The Elevator
by NintendoGal55
Summary: Collaboration with Azure129. Craziness ensues when Arnold and Helga get trapped in an elevator overnight, all the while facing post-confession and post-April Fool's Dance consequences. What will come of it all?
1. At the mall

**A/N:**

NintendoGal55: Hello one and all. Today we have a very interesting treat for all of you. This will be a collaboration between myself and Azure129, who is honestly one of my favourite HA(!) writers ever. And the feeling is mutual! XD Well, so of course we're big fans of Hey Arnold, and of course, huge ArnoldxHelga shippers, as you all know. So I guess it's no wonder we would collaborate on something like this. I have to say that it's a great honour and privilege to work with her. So we hope you guys enjoy this, the works and ideas of both myself and Azure129!

Azure129: Greetings lovely HA! fandom :) How're things going guys? Still rooting for the production of The Jungle Movie, glaring evilly at Nick for not picking up the Patakis, wishing every day that someone in an animation studio at Nick headquarters will stumble across a reel of feel entitled "HA! Season 6" and release it to the hungry masses? (Come on-you all know that just like me that's how you spend at least part of your time, lol ;) ). Anyway-first collab fic ever! And I'm working with one of my fav authors :) What could be better? Oh and did I mention it's an AXH story-yeah that brings it from incredibly awesome to like cosmically awesome or something, lol! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy what we come up with (I guarantee it's gonna be fun ;) ).

Disclaimer: We do not own the characters, otherwise things would be WAY different than that are right now!/Viacom makes us put these here to just dangle it in front of our faces that we can never actually own the awesome show we're writing about...don't they...Curse them...CURSE THEM!

The following is an AzureNintendo Production, written by both Azure129 and NintendoGal55.  


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"What do you think of this one, Helga?"

Helga, having been boredly leaning against a nearby rack, looked over at her best friend as she held up a bright yellow dress with a corset style bust, a long flowering skirt with patterned sequins, a cowl neckline, and held by two spaghetti straps. It was way too big for Phoebe, most likely going to hide her petite form inside of it.

"Buzz buzz, bumblebee." Helga said sarcastically. "Not going to work Pheebs, everyone will see the dress and then wonder where you went."

"Oh." Phoebe realized, and nodded, putting the dress back. "Well Helga...I can't seem to find a good dress. Will you please help me pick one?"

"Isn't that why I'm here?" Helga pulled herself away and went to the rack of dresses along the aisle. She skimmed through them, her hand on her chin, thoughtfully scanning the various colours, styles, and sizes of all the dresses. "I think you're gonna have to go with blue, it IS an Ice and Snow dance."

"Very true, Helga. I do appreciate sticking to the theme that the student planning committee has chosen. But I suppose it wouldn't matter if I did select a blue dress or a red dress, for example." Phoebe said. "Speaking of the dance, did you decide to go after all?"

"Eh, don't think so. Why would I anyway, no one to go with." Helga muttered, and pulled out an ice blue dress around Phoebe's size. "Here, try this one."

"Why not, Helga? Having a date isn't essential as it would have been many years ago."

"I don't do that kind of thing, okay, Pheebs? It doesn't matter anyway."

"What about...ice cream?"

Helga turned away to hide the light blush on her cheeks at the mention of her beloved. Of course, deep down, she would give anything to go with him to the dance. Dancing around, cheek-to-cheek, looking into each other's eyes, coming close together, it sounded like a wonderful dream. Of course, the April Fool's Day incident was certainly not something she wanted to relive. Looking back, it was a very clever joke on his part, and she couldn't help but laugh a little at it. She knew she deserved it, however. And he a really good dancer. She didn't know where he learned to tango, though she assumed it was probably under the influence of his insanely eccentric but loveable grandmother. She wondered briefly if she should chance going to the dance, to maybe dance at least once with Arnold, would that work? Or would he be too busy chasing after _Lila_?

Another thing too, was that Helga knew it would be risky considering she knew fully well how she really felt about him. He'd know why she showed up, and why she wanted to dance with him, to face the reality once more that she didn't know how he felt, or wanted to be to her. The air of uncertainty worried her, because she just _didn't know_. It could go either way. He hadn't rejected her, but he also didn't reciprocate.

_At least he wanted to think it through... I guess that shows he's not sure and doesn't blatantly hate me. What am I saying, it's Arnold, he doesn't hate._

"Helga?" Phoebe's soft voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. The dress. Go try it on, Pheebs."

"It is on." Phoebe told her.

Helga turned around, shocked to see Phoebe standing outside the nearby dressing room at the end of the aisle, and was wearing the ice blue dress she'd picked out for her. Once more, she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even know what was going on in reality.

She took in her best friend's image, and could see that the dress indeed looked amazing on her. It was ankle length, form fitting, though the skirt was long and ruffled, adding more to her shape. The thick straps hugged her shoulders, and the dress didn't seem to dangle off her.

"What do you think?" Phoebe questioned. "Do I look all right?"

"Fantastic…Wow…"

Though Phoebe's question had been directed at Helga, the voice of the person who said these two simple complimentary words was much deeper than the ten-year-old blonde's…and the direction which it came from was behind Phoebe as opposed to in front of her.

Phoebe instantly blushed a very distinct shade of scarlet and turned around on a dime only to be met with a very familiar face. "Gerald! Um…" she instantly took several steps back and practically ducked behind Helga, she was so flustered. "Um…I…I mean, good afternoon, Gerald…How are you doing?" Her voice was practically a squeak.

"Oh, uh…hey, babe…" Gerald rubbed the back of his neck a bit sheepishly and glanced down with a smile. "I'm good. How are you?"

"I…I'm quite well…" She answered a bit more calmly, letting more of her face show from behind Helga's shoulder.

Helga finally couldn't stand it anymore and just rolled her eyes. 'Oh please—let the obvious flirting stop already!' She let out a frustrated sigh and stepped aside. "Crimeny, Phoebe, what did I say about clinging? It's a dress and he obviously likes it—he just said he did. Doi! And he's gonna see it anyway at the dance! There's no need to duck and cover behind me!"

At suddenly being out in the open again, that blush crept up into Phoebe's cheeks once more, but she did her best to stand her ground, though at the very least she felt the need to put her arms behind her back and glance down shyly. "I…I'm sorry, Gerald. Helga's right. I didn't really mean to hide from you like that. You just…surprised me a little…I mean, I wasn't expecting to see you here." And then a small smile came to her lips and she managed to glance up at him and ask quietly, "Do you really like it?"

Gerald lost the sheepish look and just smiled at her, taking a step forward. "Yeah, it looks great on you, babe! Perfect color…really brings out your eyes." He winked.

Phoebe giggled and Helga did her best not to lose her lunch. 'So sweet it could give you cavities—ugh, and Phoebe wonders why I'm not going to the stupid dance. Like there's any guy out there who'd get all worked up over me, calling me cute little names and—'

"Hey, Gerald!"

A familiar voice brought her out of these thoughts and caused Helga's eyes to go wide in surprise and her heart to skip a beat.

Gerald however, despite being addressed, just continued gazing at Phoebe with a noticeable dreamy smile.

"Gerald…" The owner of the voice that had called to him emerged from a nearby aisle of dresses…with just a bit of an all-knowing look on his face at the sight of his best friend all but entranced by Phoebe Heyerdahl.

"Huh?" Gerald blinked this time and turned to Arnold, blushing just a little. "Oh, uh…sorry man, I was a little, uh…distracted…" He smiled sheepishly and jerked his thumb forward. "Look who I ran into!"

Gerald, with this gesture, of course really mostly meant Phoebe… but that didn't stop Arnold's eyes though from moving quickly over the girl in the blue dress in question to Helga with her arms crossed over her chest and not looking at him…and actually almost trying to scooch a little behind Phoebe now.

Helga gave an internal moan. 'Great, just what I need—first I've gotta get dragged through looking at all of these girly dresses by Phoebe, then I've gotta sit and watch her play googly-eyes with tall hair boy, and now to top it off the stupid, tango-pranking Football Head has to show up! Ugh, someone call my waiter and tell him I want the check because I am OUT of here the second I get the chance!'

"Uh, did you need something man?" This question, coupled with a few waves of his hand in front of Arnold's arguably quite-a-bit-more-surprised-looking-than-it-ought-to-have-been-in-this-situation face, came from Gerald.

Arnold blinked and shook his head in response, coming out of the slight stun the sudden sight of Helga had brought upon him. Not that he hadn't seen Helga multiple times since…that night…on that rooftop… (honestly the whole thing still overwhelmed him so much sometimes that quite often he couldn't even admit to himself in thought the specifics of what it had been) But still…suddenly finding himself running into her had been becoming more and more jarring as the weeks had progressed…And of course that whole incident with the April Fools dance probably hadn't helped matters much… 'If we're ever alone again she'll kill me for that prank…I just know it…' Conveniently enough, though, Arnold had been doing his best over the last few weeks to assure that he and Helga were not left alone under any circumstances…for this and other obvious reasons.

Recalling that Gerald had asked him a question and that he'd had something to tell him anyway, Arnold swallowed and greeted the two girls, "Uh, hi, Phoebe…Helga…" and then put the Helga situation on the back burner for now to address his best friend. "Gerald, I asked one of the sales people and they said that this side of the store is mostly for dresses but they've got a tux section in the back with shoes and ties and stuff."

Gerald smiled at the information. "Oh, great… We should probably head over there then…" He cleared his throat and turned back to Phoebe. "Well, I guess we'll see you later then…" He hesitated, and then finally added with a touch of that dazed look coming back to his face, "By the way Phoebe….Is that the dress you're definitely gonna wear?"

Phoebe swallowed. "Oh, um…yes, I'm…fairly certain it is, at least…" She then glanced over her shoulder unsurely at her best friend. "Helga, you never answered me…do you think it looks alright?"

Helga was about to respond with something sarcastic considering the bad mood she was in, but then the hopeful look in Phoebe's face made her pause in this course of action and her face soften. A second passed and then she let out a breath and put a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. She smiled. "It looks stellar, Phoebe," she stated sincerely. "In fact, I'm afraid I'd have to let Old Betsey and the Five Avengers loose on the entire staff here if any of them was stupid enough to let you walk out of here without buying it."

Phoebe's eyes lit up at the words of her best friend. "Oh…thank you, Helga!" And she instantly had her arms wrapped around the girl in question.

Helga chuckled and gently tried to push her off. "Yikes, okay, okay, let me go already, Pheebs…People are starting to stare." She tried her best to scowl again, but the smile wasn't making it seem too effective. "I do have a reputation to maintain, you know!"

Phoebe released her and chuckled. "Sorry, Helga. Letting go!"

Helga smiled at her, and then just let out a sigh and shook her head. "Okay, well, at least the dress shopping mission's finally complete." She opened her eyes to see her best friend now looking back to the boys.

The silence was broken when Arnold spoke up to try to ease the lightly risen tension in the air. "Um, yeah, looks like it! All we have to do now is get Gerald a new suit. So we should..." He could once again see that Gerald wasn't paying much attention to him. It was as if he were talking to a wall.

Taking a quick peek at a pocket watch he had hidden in his pocket, he saw that they had about a half an hour left before the mall closed. Finding a new outfit of any kind was never that hard for Gerald, especially when Arnold went with him to help out. And even finding a new suit wasn't a hard task.

Then again, as he thought about it, this was a pretty big deal for Gerald, and he did want to get the best suit he could, considering he sadly outgrew his old ones over the past year. This would all probably take a while, since Gerald also needed a new pair of dress shoes. So, it was obvious he wanted to put more effort into it, considering this was pretty much his first dance with Phoebe, the first time he actually asked her. They had a tendency to meet up at a school dance and then dance together, but here Gerald asked her, in terms of a date.

An idea struck Arnold then and he smiled. Maybe, just maybe, he could help kick things up a notch and get the potential couple a little closer. They didn't always have a chance to spend one-on-one time together, so why not start now? Sure they would have a lot more of that during the dance, but maybe it was time to nudge them closer.

"Actually Phoebe," Arnold then said, finally catching their attention. "I was wondering if I could maybe ask you a little favour?"

Phoebe's eyes widened with genuine curiosity. "A favour?"

Helga arched one side of her brow. Just what was Arnold thinking right now? He seldom asked for any favours! Though granted, practically everyone in school owed him at least one favour. Maybe it was about time a little role reversal was set.

"If you want to, of course. But what I'm asking is, if you could maybe help out Gerald pick out a new suit. You already have your dress chosen, so it'll be easier for him to find a good suit that would go well with it, and it would be interesting to see what he could come out with if he had help from a girl's perspective. So, would you mind going along with him to the tuxedo section and help him pick one out? You'd be better for the job than I would be." Arnold said as casually as he could, as if he were asking her what shoes she was wearing.

Gerald stared wide-eyed at his best friend, and even Helga looked pretty taken aback as her jaw dropped lightly.

"Really? Me?" Phoebe asked in surprise, pointing to herself. "I...well...gosh, I never thought of it that way."

Arnold gave a nod, trying to pay attention to Gerald, but was finding it hard to do so since he could _feel_ the surprised, penetrating gaze of a certain someone's cobalt eyes. "I didn't either until now. So Gerald, if it's okay with you, can Phoebe help you out?"

Wide-eyed, Gerald shook his head and managed to grin. "You're a real bold kid, Arnold. Sure thing!" He looked at Phoebe then. "No objections here, babe, if you want to help me out, we'd definitely find something in the nick of time."

Blushing a little bit, the petite Asian girl gave a smile and pushed her glasses further up her nose to try to busy herself a bit as she felt herself tremble with giddiness. "Well...of course Gerald, I would be very happy to help you, it's nice to know that you would value my opinion on your dance wear." She turned to her own best friend. "Oh, you don't mind, do you, Helga?" Unseen to the boys, she gave her pleading eyes.

Helga's initial reaction was to say no, there was no way she was about to let herself be subjected to...well, alone time with the other boy there. Not that it would be a bad thing deep down of course, she pretty much BEGGED to the Gods and Spirits above for alone time with the adorable little football head. Even right now, with the tension and uncertainty looming in the air. But still, now was NOT the time for that.

But seeing Phoebe's pleading brown eyes bearing into her own, not to mention the reality of the situation, since her best friend obviously wanted to help Gerald pick out a suit that would go well with her dress, and to even spend time with him before the big night. It was true they didn't always have enough time with one another, considering the circumstances they faced on a daily basis. She also felt that she had no power over this. Saying no to Phoebe then would be about as pointless and stupid as playing a video game blindfolded with the audio muted.

That's what she would do. Give in to Phoebe, let her spend time with her quite obvious crush, and then part ways from her beloved, go home and write more poems in the middle of her closet facing her shrine, and whatever else she could think to do on a day like this.

Just ANYTHING but being alone with him now.

"Whatever Pheebs, since it means _that_ much to you." Helga said nonchalantly. She looked at Gerald and immediately thrust her fist toward his face, stopping a few inches away. "You had better look after her Geraldo, or your face will have an appointment with Old Betsy. If she gets lost or hurt, so help me!"

Despite his nervousness, Gerald managed to smile and back away lightly, holding up his hands in defence. "I got it, no worries, Phoebe's gonna be fine under my watch. Wouldn't dream of letting somethin' happening to her!"

Rolling her eyes lightly, Helga withdrew her fist, crossing her arms. "You'd better be good in upholding your promise, Tall-hair boy."

"Thank you, Helga!" Phoebe hugged Helga again, and let her go quicker this time. "Do you want me to meet you outside the mall when I'm finished?"

"Nah, you go ahead and take your time, I'll just head home and watch TV or something, that's if _Bob_ isn't hogging the tube if you know what I mean." Said Helga, jerking her thumb to the direction behind her. "I don't know about _him_ over there, the little football-headed geek, but _I'm_ outta here."

"All right then, I'll give you a call when I get home later on. Thank you so much again, Helga!" Phoebe smiled brightly before she disappeared into the changing room to change out of the dress. She emerged a few minutes later, carrying the dress on its hanger over her arm. "Shall we go?"

"Sure thing, babe!" Gerald offered her his arm in a gentlemanly manner.

Phoebe giggled and linked her arm through his. She sent a wink to Helga, much to her surprise, and cast a grateful glance toward Arnold before the two of them retreated down the aisle together, leaving their respective best friends alone.

"And on that note of overly sentimental mush, I bid you a fond farewell, Football Head!"

Arnold, who, with a satisfied smile, had been just watching his best friend and his best friend's crush go off together, blinked at this sudden statement from Helga and turned to see her walking forward and now past him.

Before he could really consider his words or actions, Arnold moved forward on instinct, slightly cutting her off. "Wait, Helga—you're really going to leave just because Phoebe's gone?"

Now it was Helga's turn to blink…and in addition to feel a very slight blush begin to creep up into her face. "Wh-what are you…I mean…" She closed her eyes and shook her head, then opened them once more with her scowl returned. "What are you talking about, Football Face—that's what I just said! Doi!" She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced away from him. "I mean why else would I stick around…"

The comment was no different from the typical sarcastic ones Helga had given to Arnold throughout her life…however, unbeknownst to Arnold, this particular seemingly rhetorical question was accompanied by Helga's heartbeat quickening just slightly…and was far from rhetorical when you got right down to it. After all, he HAD just stopped her from leaving and also kind of suggested that there was a reason for her to stick around here…with him…alone… She swallowed. Yes, the situation between them now was awkward to say the least thanks to her confession. But once again she had always treasured a chance for some alone time with her beloved… 'And if he wants to spend time with me even knowing everything, then…then maybe…'

Arnold's smile and step forward all of a sudden instantly made Helga's stomach do flips and sent hope through her like electricity…though his then stepping back and the shifting of his now slightly wide eyes downward replaced that hope with confusion and doubt…and then his sigh and the words he spoke next finally sealed the deal. "Well…I just thought you'd stick around even though Phoebe got something to wear because the dance is tomorrow and the mall's only open for another half an hour but you didn't get to pick out a dress yet for yourself, Helga…" He put his arms behind his back shyly. "I mean unless you already got one."

'Knew it—I am such an idiot! A Grade A Sucker for Arnold…' Helga rolled her eyes. "Well thanks for your concern Mr. Mom but for your information I wouldn't be caught dead at some stupid dance—let alone one where the only thing that's gonna be happening is our best friend's giggling and grinning at each other. I'd rather have a root canal."

Arnold's frown in response to this information caused her to eye him with just a bit of caution. "Oh…" he simply stated. "I'm sorry, Helga…but even if Phoebe's going to be busy you should still go. It seems like it'll be a lot of fun."

"Yeah well, seeing as how the last dance I went to at our stupid school ended up with my 'date' using the last song of the night to toss me into a freezing pool, I think I'll pass…" Helga couldn't help mumbling this observation with just a touch of bitterness to her tone, glancing away. In truth, though she wouldn't have traded the memory of that intense tango between herself and Arnold for anything—the feeling of their bodies against each other and her beloved dipping her and spinning her and leaning in so close to her like that, the knowledge that he was actually there with her and dancing with her almost like they were a real couple—it had still well…stung a little that Arnold had used his suspicions of the truth of her secret to trick her. She had never…well no one had ever done something like that to her. And even though she knew he had meant well and that she'd definitely had a retaliation prank coming to her after that whole 'I'm blind' thing… it couldn't help but also make her feel just a little…well, used…especially considering that that tango had been his first acknowledgement of the secret now between them.

Hearing this bitter statement made under Helga's breath, Arnold finally felt the blush that had been threatening to come to his face enter just slightly. Guilty couldn't even describe how he felt whenever someone brought up how he'd behaved at that dance. To be honest he wasn't even sure where all of that had come from…Well, okay, he maybe had a 'small' idea where that had come from. 'Arnold I love you, I've always loved you ever since I first laid eyes on that stupid Football Head of yours!' He tried to cut off his memories of the rest of the words of her confession which had been basically burned into his mind thanks to the passion of the original, the surprising intensity of the versions of it that had repeated over and over in his dreams over the last few months…and of course with how she'd sealed it with that…that kiss…

Finally, realizing that letting his thoughts get lost in his confusion about the girl before him would only make his blushing even more apparent and only probably lead to trouble with her, he let out a sigh and glanced hesitantly up at Helga. "Yeah…I guess our school dances can have their good parts and bad parts…" he managed generically. "Well," he cleared his throat and began to turn away, "I guess I'll leave then, too…"

"What…?" Helga had to ask with a slight smirk, enjoying that little look of guilt he'd just gotten about their last school dance ('Good—maybe that'll teach him not to mess with me and especially not my emotions! Hmph!'), "Not snagging yourself a new monkey suit as long as you're here? Remember, Mr. Conscientious, the dance is tomorrow!" She waved a sarcastically scolding finger at him.

Arnold paused and turned back, blinking at the question. "Oh, well, I…I was just going to use my old suit." He shrugged and smiled. "Gerald's only really getting a new one because of Phoebe…"

"And what—you don't have a 'special lady' you're trying to impress on a date tomorrow night, yourself, Romeo?" She said it with as much sarcasm as possible and trying to look as indifferent and uncaring as possible. Inside of course though was another story… Did Arnold have a date? Was he hoping to maybe see someone particular at that dance at the very least? What if it was Lila?

Arnold felt the heat he had been trying to keep at bay finally fully flood his face at the question. "Well, I…um…" he swallowed, "N-no…I mean, I'm not going with…with anyone…if that's what you mean…" He took another step back, glancing down shyly. "I just wanted to be there to give Gerald moral support and…"

"Yak, yak, yak!" She made a hand motion like talking, cutting him off. "Yes, you're going there to do the 'right thing' and be there as backup for Geraldo. How touching. Not that I even care." She closed her eyes and let out a sigh and walked past him to the store exit. "I'm out of here-you've taken up far too much of my time already with your Football Headed little problems, Football Head. Besides, I'm getting kind of hungry for dinner. Phoebe's had me in this mall ever since school let out and I'm starved at this point!"

Arnold watched her departure for several confused seconds and then followed after her. Catching up, he replied simply, not really sure how to respond to her random jumps from awkward questions to sarcastic quips and everywhere in between, "Yeah, I should probably get back home for dinner too."

He glanced at Helga who, still scowling, rolled her eyes once more, heading out of the store into the main section of the mall. "Ugh, okay, well then since we're both leaving the mall at the same time and there's only one exit and we're already together or whatever, I guess you can walk out with me like you seem to want to do—Crimeny you can be clingy, Football Head!" Hey, she didn't want some big intimate talk with him…but a few more minutes being near her beloved wasn't exactly the worst thing she could think of in the world…especially since she now knew he didn't have a date for tomorrow night. She half smiled at the thought. 'If I wasn't still so terrified of and ticked at him all the time now, I think I actually would snag a dress and show up just to see if I could sneak in a song or two with him on the dance floor….'

"Um…whatever you say, Helga." Arnold shrugged at her sudden announcement, still finding her so very confusing… '_But I guess nothing could happen from us just walking out of a mall together…And I more than owe her at least an escort down to the street for taking advantage of her at that dance like that…_'

Arnold glanced around and then gestured with his head a few hundred feet ahead of them with a smile. "There's the elevator down to the ground floor."

"Good call, Sherlock." She smirked. "What tipped you off—the fact that there's only one elevator and you used it to get up here to this store right near it not too long ago or the big red sign above it that says 'Elevator' ?" She went forward, chuckling to herself.

Arnold just sighed and watched her for a second. Still, despite the fact that she was technically making fun of him…he couldn't help but smile just a little to himself at that familiar sense of humor. He then just let out a breath, shaking his head, and walked forward to catch up with her once more.

The two walked in silence toward the aforementioned elevator, with Arnold occasionally glancing toward Helga, only to have her glance at him right back when she sensed she was being watched, to which he'd quickly look away. Why he was doing that, she didn't even know.

"Heh, didn't your Grandma tell you that it's not polite to stare, Football Head?" Helga teased, smirking a little. "And here I thought you had better manners than that. Tsk tsk. Way to prove yourself to a lady, Arnoldo."

"Sorry Helga, I didn't mean to be rude." he looked away sheepishly. '_Why was I even looking at her in the first place? Sure we're walking together, and maybe I tend to glance at any walking companion, but why?'_

"Better be. Remember, I've got a reputation to uphold. If anyone from school sees me walking here with you, let alone with you actually _staring _at me, people are going to start talking, and we won't hear the end of it come Monday, no sir. We may as well just show up at the dance together tomorrow."

Arnold opened his mouth to argue against that, but felt it was better not to put her discomfort of what other people thought of her on a mental level on the line, especially not right now.

Her words struck him for some reason; _We may as well show up at the dance together tomorrow._ Of course he knew she was being sarcastic to prove her point, but strangely, it made him think. There was a crazy idea, the two of them going to the dance together tomorrow night. A part of him was saying no way, it was a stupid idea and would ultimately end in disaster, victims did not go with their bullies to a dance. On the other hand, he couldn't help but think of how interesting that would be. He could use it as making it up to her from the April Fool's Day incident, since he wouldn't retaliate in her pranks, and show her a good time. And hey, when she didn't have her defensive "Get them before they get me" walls up and displayed her bullying persona, she was actually very interesting company. He knew for sure that if they did go together, he'd never be bored. No matter what kind of "mood" she was in, she always had an interesting way to keep him on his toes. He was never bored with her.

A lot would argue that it was just his tendency to keep his guard up around her and to expect her fiery words, but it seemed more than just that.

If they _did_ go to the dance together, as unlikely as it seemed, it really would be an interesting evening. At the very least, he'd be making it up to her for the April Fool's Day dance.

"Hey Dream Boy, wake up!" Helga waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his reverie. "Gee, I know you tend to have your head in the clouds, but _this_ badly? Jeez. Well anyway, while you were off in La-La Land, we have arrived at the grand elevator."

Arnold blinked, and looked up to see that they had indeed come to the elevator. "Oh, right. Sorry Helga, I just had a bit on my mind."

"You can say that again." Helga rolled her eyes, and hit the Down button.

The doors opened promptly, and the two of them stepped inside. Hitting the G button, the doors closed, and the elevator began its descent.

Realizing how close they were standing together, Helga inconspicuously side-stepped over to one side of the elevator so as not to be too close to him. Even though she wanted nothing more than to be close to him, especially in an elevator, where no one could see, but _he_ was there with her. She may as well have a repeat of her confession.

_No wonder, the cat's out of the bag._ She thought, biting her lip. _Everything I do now, he knows I'm lying. Still, I have to be careful, just because he knows doesn't mean I can let my guard down._

Before she could think further, the elevator suddenly stopped. But when the doors didn't open, Helga frowned. Why hadn't they opened? They had stopped. So what was going on?

She hit the Door Open button, but nothing happened.

"The heck? Why are we stopped and then the doors aren't opening?"

Arnold looked up at the floor display pad above the door, and saw that the numbers were switching between one and two. Didn't that mean they were stuck between the first and second floor? Worry arose within him, seeing what this could have meant.

"Open, you dumb doors! Open!" Helga angrily commanded to the doors, knocking them with her fist. "I said open! Open sesame! ...Just open! Come on!"

"Um...Helga?"

"I said OPEN!" At his question, she looked at him. "What!"

"I think we might be stuck."

"Stuck? The heck do you mean stuck!"

Arnold pointed upward, and Helga followed his finger, looking up at the floor display pad, which was still switching between one and two. Her eyes widened.

"Oh no..."

Instantly, the two trapped kids began pounding their fists on the elevator doors, yelling for help as the display pad continued to switch between one and two, indicating that they were indeed stuck.


	2. Stuck in an elevator

**A/N:**

**NintendoGal55: Hello and welcome back everyone! :D Now our heroes are stuck in the elevator! Oh NO! Whatever shall they do? Well, read and find out in this story! **

**Azure129: Hi guys! Oh boy-post confession Arnold&Helga locked in a small space with nothing to do but talk-you know that's like my favorite scenario for this series, right? Hope you guys like how they start trying to cope! Please R&R! **

**Disclaimer: Hey Arnold is the property of Craig Bartlett, Nickelodeon and Viacom. So support the official release and stuff. ...Man come on, why do we even need to state the disclaimer? We'd have to be high on sugar, crack and TCP if we thought we owned HA!/Me owning HA! is about as likely as Stinky being a vampire...o, er,NOT being a vampire...That ep ended a little ambiguously didn't it? Anyway, point is that I DO NOT own the show! **

HAHAHAHAAHAHA

...

"HEY! LET US OUT! OPEN THE DOORS!"

"HELP US!"

For what seemed like hours, they pounded their fists against the elevator doors, seemingly unheard by the outside world. Somehow they didn't notice the "Out Of Order" sign posted near the elevator, and as a result, faced its malfunction of getting stuck between the first and second floor. And no one seemed to hear their cries for help.

Arnold stopped pounding on the doors since his hands were beginning to hurt, and went over to the key pad, trying out the emergency phone. Holding it to his ear, and clicking on the hang-up pad, he was dismayed to find that the phone was also dead.

"LET US OUT DARN IT! I SAID LET US OUT! HELLO? CAN YOU NOT HEAR US OUT THERE? WE'RE TRAPPED IN HERE AND WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Helga yelled, still pounding on the doors.

"Helga." Arnold said, trying to get her attention.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE IN HERE IF YOU PEOPLE DON'T GET A MOVE ON AND GET US OUT!"

"Helga!"

"THE WALLS ARE CLOSING IN! THE AIR IS ESCAPING FAST! LET US OUT ALREADY!"

"_Helga_!"

"WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DEAF? LET US OUT!"

"HELGA!"

"WHAT!" Helga scowled toward him.

Arnold blinked, a little surprised at her finally turning around, but quickly regained himself and recalled what he had to say. "Helga…um, I know that being trapped here is kind of…unexpected… but don't you think you're getting a little…carried away?"

Helga blinked and swallowed and instantly shot back in an obviously nervous voice, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Arnold just sighed at this reply and leaned against one of the walls of the elevator…actually kind of trying hard not to smile to himself at this point at her slightly overdramatic hysterics. "Well, no matter what you think I don't think we're going to DIE in here, Helga. I'm sure some night janitors or a watchman or something will probably come by and notice there's a problem. And if worse did come to worse, people come to open up the stores and the mall itself pretty early so the longest we'd have to be in here is overnight. And as for air well…" he jerked his thumb up toward a corner of the ceiling, "There's a vent right there so we can't suffocate. And as for everyone 'being deaf', I think the problem is just that we're trapped between two floors along with the fact that people are leaving for the day so it makes sense that no one can hear us right now." He then let out a breath and sat calmly down on the floor, and smiled at her. "We should just wait here for someone to find us, or at least wait until later to try pounding on the door again. It's just a waste of energy to keep at it now."

The argument was sound. The argument was logical. Yet it did little to calm Helga though she tried to act like she'd accepted his more than sensible points. She swallowed and stepped to the side and then back, all the while keeping her gaze on him with wide eyes. "Uh…okay…I-I mean, yeah, that…that makes sense, Arno—Football Head. We just…" she tugged at her collar, "We just wait." And then she sat upon the floor, pulling her legs close and doing her best to look 'very' interested in some of the scuffs on the floor right near her.

In point of fact, Helga hadn't really been panicked at the idea of actually 'dying in an elevator' (well…not MUCH, at least) so much at the reality hitting her that this wasn't going to be some ten second 'slightly awkward' elevator ride with Arnold, who she could then avoid talking to one-on-one like the plague for the rest of their lives if she felt like it. This was…indefinite. She was trapped in a small room with Arnold…for who knew how long. 'Okay, okay…' she tried to reassure herself, 'Just stick with silence and insults. It's never taken more than a few well-placed jabs to get Arnold to leave you alone. It's fine, it's okay…Heck, he'd probably be more than happy to not start up a conversation with someone who's bullied him since preschool—"

"You know…it was really nice of you to do what you did for Phoebe back in that store, Helga…"

"Huh?" She blinked and started, coming out of her panicked thoughts.

Arnold blinked at the strange response but chalked it up to her still feeling a little panicked about the broken elevator and cleared his throat, clarifying. "How you made her feel good about the dress and then let her go off with Gerald like that. It was a…nice thing to do." And honestly Arnold hadn't been able to be help but feeling just a little stuck on these two actions…and how they had reminded him of something he'd always felt: that Helga wasn't so bad deep down. Right now, though, he couldn't help but note a slight warmth threatening to creep into his cheeks as a parallel thought suddenly popped into his head. 'But deep down she also…about me…' Once again his thoughts on the matter shut down. He was going to be in here with her for a while and the last thing he needed was to be unable to even make eye contact with her thanks to his embarrassmet. 'Besides, talking like this might get her mind off of being trapped, and also…well…' And also, well…Arnold was kind of hoping that if he could be the one leading the conversation that he could make them avoid talking about the whole April Fools thing. As to the OTHER major thing that there was to avoid, he certainly had no desire to go into it, let alone here and now, and with how Helga had been acting ever since FTi, she didn't seem too keen on the idea of 'elaborating' either.

"Oh…" Helga's somewhat surprised sounding 'Oh' brought Arnold out of his contemplations, and made him bring his eyes to her again…and he had to squint just for a moment as it almost seemed like…was she blushing just slightly? "Well, um…I mean…" he watched as she swallowed and glanced down nervously, then took a deep breath and did her best to resume at least a weak scowl as she looked back to him, "Well don't start thinking I'm becoming some kind of Mr. Goodie Two Shoes like YOU or anything! I only did those things because…um…"

She hesitated and the interesting thought couldn't help but occur to him, 'Is she…trying to come up with an excuse…just for being nice?'

"…Well, I told Phoebe that dress looked great on her because it DOES! Your best friend even said so! And as for going along with this little impromptu Gerald/Phoebe date, that was only because you suddenly railroaded my best friend away from me and it was either go with it or look like a self-centered jerk!" she finally finished, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away from him with a darker scowl. "Crimeny—I'm having a semi-decent time at the mall and then you have to come along and ruin it with your butting in and your loopy date ideas and your…your…Football Headed-ness!" Yes, it was a lame finish but he HAD caught her a little off guard there with that compliment about her being 'nice.' And nice led to interesting and interesting led to secretive and secretive led right to 'Arnold I love you, I've always loved you!' It was a slippery slope in other words and she was NOT about to take the first step down it now!

As she finished her well-chosen response she just heard Arnold sigh and mumble in his usual complacent voice, "Whatever you say, Helga…" Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she could see a small smile on his face…and he seemed to be glancing down as though in thought or a daydream.

She allowed her gaze to remain on him…

…And felt her nervousness building as the small smile remained…and then grew a little…and then this strange look came into his eyes…and then even a slight chuckle escaped him. He was daydreaming about something and though Helga could have no idea what it was somehow it made her uneasy. She couldn't help but feel like it was something about her—about what she'd just said (or maybe something she'd once done…not too many weeks ago), and somehow him being off in his own little world about it couldn't help but make her feel just a little defensive and vulnerable.

"Hey, paste for brains! Take a picture, it'll last longer! And quit looking like such a moron! Crimeny!"

Her words seemed to snap him out of something and his eyes instantly looked up and…was he…blushing?

Helga couldn't help involuntarily pulling her legs just a little closer to her body and eyeing him cautiously. 'Okay I don't know what's up with him or how the heck we're ever going to get out of here but one thing's for sure-this whole situation is just a powder keg waiting to blow!'

"Oh, um...sorry, Helga, I was just..." Arnold swallowed, trying to gather his words.

"Just what? What are you gawking at? That's pretty bad, when even give Helga G. Pataki the creeps. So what's with you? Jeez, I forgot I had 'Please Stare At Me' plastered across my forehead. Yeah, thank you so much. Did you forget how I said that it's not polite to stare? I mean really Arnoldo, I didn't think you actually had an edge of actual bad manners!"

What she said only seemed to make his blush seem to make itself more prominent, now causing Helga to raise one side of her eyebrow. Just what was going on in that football-shaped head of his?

"Sorry Helga," He apologized once more, getting her attention. "I was just thinking of something, and I was a little lost in thought."

"Mmm...something like what?" Helga questioned, now disobeying her earlier command to keep silent and jab insults if needed.

Sure, sometimes even Arnold was a little elusive to what he was thinking about, but she guessed that it usually was because it was about her, and knew that she knew it wouldn't result well. Even if he was pretty much right nine times out of ten about her, a lot more than she was willing to outwardly admit. Another reason was, because hey, even he had to have his own set of private secrets he wasn't quite willing to share. Understandable, he was human. Everyone had secrets.

But it didn't stop her from being curious. Even if right now was definitely not the best situation, being trapped in an elevator with little to no way out for a few hours or worse, overnight, and most of all, just some time, a few weeks, after she finally revealed the truth of her feelings to him. So basically, she was trapped, with no way out, no way to hide, other than with silence, with the one boy she loved and still loved, who _knew_ how she felt.

The Gods of Irony were probably having a field day with this one.

It wasn't the best time, but on a brighter note, as Arnold would likely say even in a case like this, at least no one was around to hear them or see them. Not until they were discovered by a janitor or watchman, or an employee either tonight or the next morning.

Wait.

That particular factor seemed to make Helga's blood run cold. It was a perfect situation. No one was around to hear or see them, especially no one they knew. They were alone in an uninterrupted place, and neither of them would be able to hide or run off. Her only defence would be to stay silent, and even that wasn't very effective, not like this.

If Arnold caught on to this, and she was sure he would, he would have full advantage and have her cornered, even more so than he did back on the rooftop of the FTi building when he confronted her about being Deep Voice and why she was helping him over material gain.

Helga was trapped. A lot more than she was willing to admit.

This was bad.

"Never mind, I'm sorry." Arnold said, snapping her out of her reverie. He decided, despite that he was an honest person and didn't like to hide things from others, unless the circumstances were different, not to tell her what he was thinking about. He was walking on egg shells around her enough as it is, and the last thing he wanted to do was to make their current funk, being trapped in an elevator for who-knows-how-long, with nowhere to run or hide, even more awkward than it already was.

No, he had to keep it low for now.

Before he could wave it off further, realization struck him like lightning and he looked at her, a lightbulb going off in his head. "Wait a second. Helga, the mall is closing soon, so then that means Gerald and Phoebe might head home soon."

"Gosh Arnoldo, I had no idea they would do that. I thought for sure they would camp out in the parking lot under the stars." Helga said dryly, rolling her eyes.

As much as he ignored her dry remark, he couldn't help but find himself wanting to laugh a little at her witty sarcasm, but now was not the time. "Actually, what I mean is, Gerald will try to call me, and/or Phoebe will try to call you. But we won't be home, right?" Before she could answer, he went on. "So, this might confuse them a bit, and maybe not for long, but as it gets later, and considering the mall will be long closed by then, and we haven't shown up at home yet for dinner, and hadn't contacted anyone on top of that, they might get worried."

"And then send out an epic search party, and suddenly see we're at the mall trapped in one of the elevators? Real smart, football head. And just another reminder how you should have arranged to meet with Geraldo after this was over, so that they'd find out AHEAD of time that we're missing."

Realizing what she was saying, Arnold gave a sigh and nodded. She was right. And yet, to be fair, he hadn't known that this would happen, and he DID want to give his best friend a little more time with Phoebe, but maybe he should have...

Shaking his head, there was nothing either of them could do about that now. They just had to wait and see if their respective best friends, his grandparents and her parents, would soon come to see something fishy going on with their absence and no contact.

"Whoa! Hold the phone." Helga stood up then, catching Arnold's attention. She pointed her finger upward to the ceiling, toward the emergency escape hatch. "I think I just found our ticket out of here."

"Through the emergency escape hatch?" Arnold asked, standing up too. He hesitated upon seeing the distance of the height from the floor to the ceiling of the elevator. "I don't know, it's really high up."

"Um, hello? That's what we're going to do about it! You're going to climb onto my shoulders, since I'm a lot taller than you of course, and you're going to reach for the escape hatch." She then cut him off before he could say anything. "And NO, relax, football head, I'm not going to let you fall. Jeez, I want to get out of here, we can save the good stuff for later. So go on, get onto my shoulders." She crouched down so that he could get up on her.

"Um...are you sure, Helga?" Arnold looked at her with uncertainty.

"YES, I'm sure, otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it in the first place! Now get up on my shoulders, slow poke! We could be out of here by now!"

"Whatever you say, Helga." Arnold nervously stepped toward her.

"Darn right, whatever _I _say. Now hurry up, football head!"

Carefully, Arnold managed to step up onto her shoulders, feeling her thin frame tremble under his weight, but still holding strong. She started to slowly stand up, and he placed his hand on the nearby wall to help achieve balance and not fall. He looked up at the ceiling, seeing the height increase as she stood more tall.

"Jeez you're heavy, Arnoldo! Maybe it's time you cut down on your ice cream intake." Helga quipped dryly, gripping his ankles to support him. She tried to stand straight, but his added full weight on her shoulders wasn't helping, and caused her to sway a little. "C'mon, hurry up!"

"I...I can't reach it!" Arnold uttered, reaching up as far as his arm could go up toward the escape hatch, struggling to reach further up, but with no success. He wasn't even an eighth of the way close to reaching it.

"What? Oh come ON! You have got to be kidding me! Reach up higher, football head!"

"I'm trying, Helga! But I can't reach it! Neither of us are tall enough, even put together."

Arnold continued struggling a bit to reach the hatch, not really seeing the point but wanting to at least try a little bit more to humor the grumpy girl below him. And at the same time, well…he was also kind of enjoying the distraction from that little moment before of her catching him looking off into the distance at her like that.

Not that Arnold had been daydreaming about anything that embarrassing…in fact he wasn't even sure why he'd refused to tell her what it was. 'I guess I just…didn't want to upset her anymore… She seems kind of…on edge.' Then again, though, he had to admit to himself that maybe at least part of his reason for keeping quiet had been for himself… After all, he HAD been thinking of all the times in the past when he'd tried to point out something decent Helga had done only to have her deny it and yell something sarcastic and defensive back at him…and realizing with amusement that she might have said all of those things not because she meant them but because she was trying to excuse the fact that she really was a nice person. He hadn't even been able to imagine the biting insult she would have shot at him if she'd found out he'd been thinking something like that…

…And then, more than a little lost in his thoughts, he might have also started drifting off into the idea of what it would be like if Helga was just…nice all the time. If all those decent, caring things he caught her doing every once in a while weren't covered up with anger and insults that she probably didn't mean anyway…If she'd quit being so silly about everything and just…

"Hey, Football, Head! You taking a nap up there or did hunger and the slowly dwindling oxygen supply in this stupid elevator finally short out that football brain of yours!"

Arnold instantly blinked and realized that, unbeknownst to the girl below him, he had just been doing it again... He'd been thinking about her. And the result was that he had all but completely stopped trying for the emergency hatch at this point.

"Arnold, you who—anybody home?" came her sarcastic voice again from below.

Arnold sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, and then shook his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry, Helga. My, um…my arms were just a little tired…" He then reached up once more just to humor her…and considered why he had once again lied to her…and why in the world he was finding the idea of Helga G. Pataki being nice so interesting…and also, maybe, trying to avoid the fact that it probably had something to do with the last time he'd truly seen her being nice…'nicer' than he'd certainly ever thought she could be. He swallowed hard, pushing the specifics of the memory away yet again. '_I…I really hope we get out of here soon. Or that she keeps coming up with ideas to get out of here that we can try…'_ He tried his best to think that he wanted this to happen in order to increase their chances of escaping this elevator as soon as possible, and to maybe give Helga an outlet for her anger about him. However, the fact that it would also mean much less of a chance of finding her suddenly grabbing him and shoving him against a wall while she confessed for a second time her undying lo…lo…love (he'd been having a little trouble with that word) for him was a consequence he was NOT unaware of…

"It figures I had to get stuck in here with the shrimpiest guy imaginable, otherwise we could probably be out of here by now!"

Arnold let out another (and much more annoyed sounding, this time) sigh at the freshest insult to meet his ears. He made another reach, shaking his head to clear it of his former thoughts. _'Yeah right…Helga acting nice all the time…What was I thinking…'_ "Helga, it's just too high for two kids. We need something else to stand on…"

He heard her scoff. "Oh yeah, let me just grab some of those conveniently placed boxes in the corner or the ladder I've had in my back pocket this whole time!"

He rolled his eyes, giving one final reach up as high as he could. "Yes, Helga…" he said in a dry voice, starting to get a little annoyed with her hyper-defensiveness, "I know we don't exactly have any stilts anything…But I'm just saying that we can't make it up there without something like that." _'Why can't she just accept that we're trapped in here and make the best of trying to get out like I'M trying to do? How is yelling at me going to make things any better…'_ He continued looking toward the hatch, glancing to the side as he now tried to see if there was anything on the wall he could maybe get a grip on to climb up there a little.

A second of silence passed.

"S-stilts…?"

Arnold had to completely pause in his endeavors now and raise an eyebrow at this single word to come from below…because since when did Helga Pataki ever sound…nervous. "Helga, are you oka—WHOA!"

CRASH!

"OOF!"

"ARNOLD!"

Silence reigned for several seconds as both kids took in what had just happened…and what was happening now.

Because it seemed Helga, for 'some reason' had suddenly fallen (or collapsed might have been a better word considering the fact that, unbeknownst to Arnold, her knees had indeed gone weak and basically given out from under her)…and her being Arnold's support had caused him to come crashing down to the floor as well.

Helga's sudden exclamation (or rather scream) of Arnold's name, by the way, had come from the fact that upon opening her eyes from this sudden fall, Helga had found herself staring directly into her beloved's…as she was currently on top of him.

"Helga?" She watched in panic as Arnold shook his head for a second and opened his eyes…and then froze up completely as he obviously suddenly took in the fact that he was directly underneath her. Her blue eyes watched his green eyes go wide.

_'Oh…oh boy… He's gonna say something…'_ Helga felt the panic setting in. 'Oh…darn it, why did he have to say 'stilts'?' She couldn't help but recall how her Deep Voice costume had indeed relied upon stilts heavily… making it so that, in her already nervous state while holding up her beloved before, she hadn't been able to help sort of spazzing when that word had suddenly hit her ears. 'And how much do you want to bet that means at most he's been going over every intimate detail of my confession in his head this entire time, and at least he's got it on his subconscious like crazy? And now we're…' She really had to try not to whimper in fear…after all her heart was pounding like crazy…and her heart was also right against his heart…. What if he could feel it? He…he was going to say something…she just knew it…and the possibility was almost paralysing her in fear.

"Are you…okay, Helga?"

She blinked and came out of her personal panic at these words from Arnold (who had taken a deep breath before finally managing to speak them in a quite sincere (if not quiet) voice).

Still feeling quite panicked, Helga hesitated for a moment…and then could only nod her head, still looking wide eyed at him. _'I…I can't speak…not when I'm…laying on top of him! I'll end up screaming that I love him and kissing him and never letting him go! I'll—'_

"Oh…good."

Arnold's voice made her breath catch in her throat and her eyes lock back fully onto his, her thoughts cutting off.

"Well, then…" And then to her COMPLETE and UTTER shock…he actually kind of smiled and continued with, "Could you move off of me…and then maybe we can come up with another way of getting out?"

At a total loss as to how to respond to the fact that rather than passing out or freaking out or screaming in panic at her to get off of him (considering how nuts she'd acted the last time they had been so close), her beloved was…kind of half grinning, and sounding quite calm indeed. She merely swallowed and slowly managed to shift herself off and to the side of Arnold in response to his request (looking completely away from him and feeling herself blushing like crazy). _'I cannot believe I just let myself get frozen while I was on top of him. If there was ONE thing I should NOT have done if I wanted to keep the conversation away from my confession, it was THAT!' _She took several breaths, trying to calm herself… and then another thought occurred to her. _'But why the heck did he SMILE of all things?' _

Getting back a bit more of her courage, she glanced to the side to check up on her beloved. Now, though (and once again to her interest) he was just sitting there, straightening his sweater a little and (kind of obviously) not making eye contact with her as well. And she was fairly certain (and she gulped at this fact) that once again there was just a trace of a blush in his features.

'What the heck is up with him?'

Meanwhile, as Arnold regained himself, blushing considerably at the close contact they'd had just moments ago, he tried not to look at her, since he knew that would lead to...whatever would happen. He had felt her heart beating, and boy he knew now that it was not just out of a rush of adrenaline or nervousness.

This was it, wasn't it. He was stuck in an elevator with no chance of getting out in the next little while. He was stuck in that said elevator with Helga G. Pataki.

Helga who tormented him on a daily basis.

Helga who was always hiding her true self beneath a rough and tough exterior.

Helga who was _in love_ with him, and hiding it.

This wasn't going to end well, was it?

Just as Arnold regained himself, that was when Helga's voice interrupted his train of thought.

"So then Arnoldo, any other bright ideas lodged in that football-shaped head of yours?"

HAHAHAHAAHAHA

"Well, looks like we better get going there babe, the mall's closing in less then ten minutes now." Gerald said, looking at his watch.

Phoebe blinked, for once not having quite kept track of the time. She'd been having quite a nice time with Gerald in picking out his suit and some shoes. They had lucked out, finding a really nice three-piece tuxedo set that consisted of a black jacket, a dress shirt that was white but with a blue hue to it, black pants, and they had found him a new pair of matching black loafers that although were casual, worked just fine with the setup and were very comfortable. The suit contrasted well with her dress, as well as his perfect size, so it was all good to go. They were more than ready for the dance the next evening.

Now oblivious to the predicament of their respective best friends, the two of them headed out of the store together, holding their garment bags over their arms, and holding hands, as per usual.

"It looks to be that we lucked out." Phoebe remarked, smiling toward him. "That suit was indeed a perfect pick."

"You're tellin' me! I didn't think we'd find one like that, but you were right about looking around the back end there Phoebe, it was brilliant!" Gerald praised her.

Blushing, Phoebe giggled a little. "Thank you Gerald, I didn't think we would have to resort to searching that particular section, but I suppose that's where the term 'Diamond in the Rough' comes into play, don't you think?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself, babe." Said Gerald, and they walked past a row of payphones, where he paused. "I don't know about you, but it'll take quite a while lugging these things home like this. What say I call my Mom and have her come pick us up?" He searched his wallet, and saw he was out of quarters. "Um... heh heh... I hate to ask this babe, but would you mind lending me a quarter?"

"Oh, go ahead, Gerald. I want to give Helga a quick call before I head home anyway." Phoebe dug into her pocket and took out her wallet, taking out two quarters, handing one to Gerald.

"Thanks a ton." He grinned at her, making her blush, and then went to one of the pay phones to use.

Phoebe took the receiver of one of the other pay phones, dropping the quarter into the slot and dialling Helga's number.

"Hello! Pataki Residence, Award-winning teacher Olga Pataki speaking!" Came a bright, bubbly, cheerful voice on the other line.

Surprised by the sudden volume, Phoebe had to hold the phone away from her ear for a moment, taken aback slightly. Olga was in town? When did that happen? Granted, Helga didn't like talking about her sister much, but she never failed to mention she was in town. Most of the time, anyway.

Bringing the phone back, Phoebe cleared her throat and spoke into the mouthpiece to the older Pataki sister on the other line. "Hello Olga, this is Phoebe Heyerdahl speaking. May I please speak to Helga, if she came home by this time?"

"Helga?" Olga repeated, sounding genuinely puzzled. "Why, she didn't even come home yet, the silly goose! And it's almost dinner time! I was going to surprise her with my visit for the long weekend! Mummy told me that she had gone to the mall with you! Isn't she with you?"

Phoebe's eyes widened in alarm. "No, there was a change of plans some time ago. You mean she didn't come home? I would have thought she'd be home by now. Did she call?"

"Not even a phone call, no!" Now Olga sounded worried. "Why Phoebe, you don't suggest that something could have happened to her, do you?"

"Of course not Olga, not at all." Phoebe said quickly, though her voice was laced with uncertainty. But there had to be a perfectly logical explanation. Helga may have gone to the park, or maybe went to get ice cream, or just went somewhere else before heading home. Maybe Arnold was walking her home and she decided to purposely take the long way so she could walk with him longer.

Either way, she wasn't sure.

"I'm sure she may have just gone out somewhere before heading home." Phoebe added. "I'm still at the mall, and I will be heading home soon. Would you have her call me at my house when she gets in."

"Absolutely! I'll be sure to pass the message to Baby Sister when she walks in. Thank you for calling Phoebe, and have a lovely day! Toodles!"

"Goodbye Olga, and thank you." Phoebe said politely, and hung up the phone, just as Gerald did the same.

"All right, Mom said she'll be here in a few minutes. So we should go out front and wait for her to-" Gerald began, and then noticed Phoebe's worried look. "...Hey, what's wrong?"

"I just phoned Helga's home, and her sister answered the phone, saying that Helga hadn't gotten home yet, or had even called." Phoebe said, biting her lip. "Now I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for this, she could just be out for a while before going home. However, I just have a funny feeling...I can't explain it properly."

"It ain't a funny feeling babe, you're just concerned for your best friend and because you don't quite know where she is, that ups it a little." Gerald assured her. "I wouldn't worry about it, like you always say, she's a strong gal. She'll be just fine. Wouldn't be surprised if my Saint of a best friend Arnold offered to walk her home." He chuckled at this. "Wouldn't be surprised."

Phoebe managed a little smile and giggled behind her hand. "I suppose you're right Gerald, I think it's just the uncertainty of where she is that is getting to me. I'm sure she may have just gone to the park or even the arcade, or had Arnold walk her home. Olga promised to have her call me at home when she arrived anyway."

"That's the spirit! C'mon, let's go outside and wait for my mom." Gerald took her hand again and lead her to the escalator leading to the ground floor.

Nodding, Phoebe followed along with him, feeling a little more at ease of the situation, but still a little puzzled. Was she right? Or...was there something else going on that she didn't know?

After all, a situation could go either way if you weren't sure.

HAHAHAHAAHAHA

Pretty much out of options by this point, Arnold and Helga sat on opposite sides of the elevator, each of them staring off into space or at the floor, walls, ceiling, anything but each other. This wasn't going well at all. It reminded Arnold of the time he and Eugene had been stuck on a roller coaster, and stuck in a tree.

Only now, he wasn't stuck with infamous jinx.

He was stuck with his own personal bully.

Once more, he concluded that this wasn't going to end well. If he upset her enough, he would have nowhere to run.

Meanwhile, Helga wasn't doing so well herself.

Though she had been reminding herself over and over ever since this elevator had broken down of the danger of this situation of being trapped with Arnold, at least there had been some hope before with pounding on the doors, and then trying the broken phone and then trying to get to the hatch that they might be able to get out of here…but there was really nothing they could do, was there? She was trapped with him. Really and truly trapped with him. Totally against her will. There was no way out of this small room. And if he said anything, ANYTHING about her secret…she really WOULDN'T be able to run and hide or brush it off… She'd have to sit there and hear him say anything he wanted to say…every horrible word about how he didn't feel the same way and how it just wouldn't work and how he'd still hope that they could be…ugh, 'friends'…even though he'd probably be thinking the whole time that if he never had to get near her and her creepy obsessiveness again it would be too soon!

Helga took a breath. _'Okay, okay, I know Arnold would never actually think something that mean but still…I wouldn't blame him if he did…For crying out loud I KISSED him on that building! What the heck was I thinking? I went and tossed him back and wrapped my arms around him and planted a fantasy kiss right on his mouth! Yeah, THAT'S not gonna make a guy run away in terror! Ugh, crimeny, I'm such a basketca—'_

"Helga?"

"Huh?" she started, and then turned to him with wide eyes, taking a few deep, startled breaths. "Uh…what?" she finally managed lamely.

"Uh…" she watched as Arnold rubbed the back of his neck, glancing down a little nervously, "Well…I was just…thinking and…" He let out a breath and finally just said it, however unhappy it might make her. "I just don't think there's a way for us to get out of here…So maybe instead of trying anything else we really should just wait for Gerald and Phoebe to realize we're gone or for someone from the mall to find us in the morning. I know that might take a while but I think it's the safest thing we can do…I mean, at least we're fine right now but one of us could have really gotten hurt with that fall we just took and then things really would have been bad." And then he blinked, a thought coming to him…and kind of a weird feeling accompanying it. "You didn't get hurt or anything, did you, Helga?"

She blinked…and couldn't help the feeling of her heart practically stopping. The way he had asked what he'd just asked…it wasn't like some kind of formality. It was like he actually truly cared. She swallowed. "I…I'm fine, Arnold…" She was still feeling a little on edge to say the least. "Are…" she did her best to remind herself that they were indeed alone so it wasn't like anyone was going to hear her ask this, "Are you okay?"

Arnold blinked, not exactly having expected that question from her. He gave her a curious look, and then glanced down at himself just to double check. He looked back up at her. "Uh, yeah…I'm okay…" He had to half smile. "Thanks, Helga." And then he couldn't help that half smile sticking around as he realized that he was smiling again because he'd just recognized in her something that he'd recognized in her just for an instant not too many seconds ago when she'd fallen on him and he'd felt her heart beat like that. She liked him. Yes, getting away from the lo-love stuff for minute…she at the very least liked him and cared about him. So she really WAS a good person no matter how much she tried to hide it.

Arnold stood up and took the few steps toward her, and then held out his hand to her to help her up.

He watched with interest as she glanced, wide eyed, from him to his hand, then back to him and then back to his hand.

And then her familiar scowl returned. "Hey, who said I needed you to help me stand up? I told you, I'm fine, paste for brains, so go peddle your 'knight-in-shining-armor' shtick to some other 'damsel in distress'!" She scooched away from him and stood, dusting herself off and then crossing her arms over her chest, her scowl continuing.

At the sound of these words from her and her movement away from him, Arnold suddenly found himself blinking several times and actually putting a hand to his head, coming back to reality. _'But why…why do I even care that she likes me…? So she asked me if I was okay… That doesn't even really mean that she likes me…. That's just something anyone would have done…'_ He sighed…tried really hard to consider his feelings for a moment, and then blinked at the interesting conclusion he came to. _'Maybe it's different because it was HER…because even though anyone else would ask anyone else who'd fallen down if they were okay…SHE'D probably only ask that to ME…wouldn't she…?'_

"So, you're going back to square one and suggesting that we just wait things out, huh?"

Helga's biting tone brought Arnold out of his contemplations and made him glance up at her. "Oh uh…" he recalled his suggestion before about them not trying any more escapes just to be safe, "Um…I guess so, Helga. Like I said, it just seems safer." And then he walked over to a wall and leaned against it, casually crossing his arms over his chest.

He watched as Helga, her arms still crossed in front of her, just sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess you might have a point, Football Head. Last thing I need is having to play nurse to you if that wide head of yours gets a 'boo boo'." She made air quotes. And then without another word she stomped over to a corner (the farthest corner from him, Arnold couldn't help but notice), and proceeded to sit down with a huff. She looked like she was distracting herself by playing with one of her pigtails.

Arnold slid to the floor and let out a breath, resigning himself once again to the fact that he was stuck here alone with Helga…and just feeling thankful that she was taking out her anger in insults rather than by pounding him…

**RING RING**

"Hello, Johansson residence, Gerald speaking…" Gerald said in an obviously disinterested voice, not particularly caring for the way his parents preferred for him to answer the phone when they were around.

"Gerald…It's Phoebe…" came the familiar, quiet voice of the girl he'd just spent the afternoon with on the other end of the line.

Gerald felt himself freeze up for a second. He then glanced from side to side to make sure that neither his brother or sister were around to overhear anything, and then quickly turned his attentions back to the phone receiver. "Uh, hey, Phoebe…What's up?"

He was trying to sound casual…but the note of worry in Phoebe's voice was obvious and quickly brought him out of his nervousness. "Gerald, have you heard from Arnold at all ever since this afternoon at the mall?"

Gerald blinked…and now couldn't help but feel a touch of worry come over him as well at this question. "No, sorry, babe… I just figured he'd gone home and gotten dinner. I'm guessing you haven't heard from Helga yet?"

He heard Phoebe swallow. "No, Gerald…and I'm starting to get rather worried. I've done my best to cover for her with Olga for now just in case it really is nothing so that she won't get in trouble but…I'm still rather worried. What if something happened to her and Arnold?" 

Gerald considered, and then tried to do his best to comfort her. "Well…maybe she just went over to Arnold's house for dinner or something… Do you want me to call him and check?"

"That's very kind of you, Gerald," Phoebe replied with gratitude, "But I've already tried the boarding house and he hasn't gotten home yet either… I spoke with his grandmother and she sounded like she was going to go out looking for him, but before I could give her any details about their whereabouts she hung up. Gerald I…really am starting to feel worried."

Now Gerald couldn't help but feel seriously concerned as well. His best friend had last been seen with the school bully he'd pranked into a pool not too long ago…and it was getting late. Then again, though, he hated the idea of getting any adults seriously involved in this, which might lead to people getting in trouble. (Gerald wasn't really counting Arnold's Grandma for the moment, as he was pretty sure she was probably just sneaking around the city with burnt cork under her eyes and a black ski cap, as usual). In addition, he also wanted to keep the outside parties being brought into this to a minimum because of, well… the 'other' option about what might be going on right with Arnold and Helga suddenly taking off alone, together, in the evening that was slowly changing over into night…

Needless to say, after watching Arnold with Helga at that April Fools dance…Gerald had some…'suspicions' about some things about his best friend. That boy had taken 'distract Helga' to a whole, new…and very out of character level. He'd spun her around, pulled her close, dipped her more than once…and had been smiling very VERY strangely the whole time. Like he was ENJOYING it all or something! And, honestly that was why Gerald had found himself remarking to Phoebe back at the mall that he wouldn't have been surprised if Arnold had offered to walk Helga home. Because there was definitely something going on there…and Gerald hadn't been able to help but wonder lately if it had something to do with Arnold…possibly crushing just a little on Helga G. Pataki ('Though where the heck got the crazy idea to try something like THAT from is still beyond me!' Gerald had to add to himself.)

"Gerald?" Phoebe's concerned voice returning brought him out of his thoughts.

Gerald blinked, considered, and then went back to his phone call. "Oh, uh, sorry, babe—zoned out there for a second. But hey, listen…let's wait another half an hour for one of them to get home and if it doesn't happen then meet at the bus stop near Slausen's and we'll try and figure something out. Maybe go look for them ourselves or something, okay?"

"Okay, Gerald." Her voice sounded a little more comforted. "I'll wait until then to double check with Helga's house, and then call you to confirm and meet you at the bus stop if she's still missing."

Gerald nodded. "And I'll double check at Arnold's house before we meet too."

"Thank you, Gerald." Her normal, happy tone was back. "I'll talk to you in a little while then."

He half smiled. "Yeah, see you, babe." He heard her giggle as she hung up.

Hanging up himself, Gerald let out a sigh and dragged a hand down his face. '_Oh man…what has that bold kid gotten himself into now? And with Helga G. Pataki of all people?'_


	3. Rising Tension

**A/N:**

**Welcome back!**

**Azure129: Oh boy guys Arnold and Helga have only been trapped for a few hours and things are already heating up! WHO'S going to snap first and bring up the elephant in the room? HOW will they ever escape? Just how far WILL Helga go to keep acting like her secret's still a secret? Well, you could ponder these questions and more or you could just read and find out! And please review while you're at it :)**

**NintendoGal55: Hello one and all, people! We're back again for another EXCITING chapter of the epic adventure of our favourite heroes stuck in the elevator! In the last chapter of The Elevator, Arnold and Helga come to find out that they're hopelessly trapped in an elevator! Gerald and Phoebe are beginning to get suspicious as to why their best friends are nowhere to be seen. Olga came back home, could that make Helga want to stay in the elevator? Confused? You won't be after this chapter of The Elevator!**

**Disclaimer: We own nothing! We're just fans who write stories about things we wish could have happened for your entertainment! Please don't sue us! We're not worth suing!/Heh...Oh Viacom, thinking I have any money I could give you anyway even if you did sue me. You crack me up! Yeah, I'll just, uh, settle with you guys out of court and give you my 'home in the Hamptons', one of the Jaguars, my Texas oil reserves, and the couple of Picassos I have in my basement in exchange for being allowed to write and post this. As Helga Pataki might say, "Don't hold your breath!" ;) **

XXXXXXXXXXXX

How much time had passed? An hour? Two hours? By now Helga wasn't even sure how long it had been. All she knew was that she and Arnold hadn't spoken a word for the past...who-knows-how-long. She wasn't sure if Arnold had the time on him, and wasn't even sure if she should ask. If she did that, it would mean breaking the silence, and then TALKING to him. Now granted, deep down she loved nothing more than to hear his sweet angelic voice floating to her ears, but in this kind of circumstance, that wasn't the best idea.

Well, he wouldn't exactly call her out on her secret if she simply asked what time it was. Asking "Hey what time is it?" didn't translate to "I love you now kiss me". That was just silly. So why was she so nervous? She could just ask what time it was, he'd answer her if he knew or not, and then that would be that. Simple enough. A conversation wouldn't commence with a simple question of asking what time it was.

Opening her mouth, she was cut off with Arnold suddenly spoke up.

"Helga, do you know what time it is?"

Her eyes widened as she blinked at the question. "...Excuse me?"

"I was asking if-"

"I heard what you said, football head! What I mean is...YOU don't have the time?"

"Huh? Well, no. That's why I was asking you. Gerald wanted to borrow my watch today because he broke his by accident."

Palming her face, Helga let out an angry groan. "You have GOT to be kidding me! Fantastic. We're stuck in an elevator, we don't have the time, and we're too short to reach the hatch!"

Blinking, Arnold felt a sense of deja-vu, coming back to the time that he and Gerald had ended up downtown on the bus when they were skipping out on the four food groups play she'd written and organized. And then they were stuck downtown dressed as a banana and strawberry.

"_We're stuck downtown, I'm a strawberry, and we don't have any money!"_

Unable to help himself, he giggled a little a the comparison.

Unfortunately, the giggle wasn't lost on her ears.

"And just what is so funny?" Helga demanded. "Mind telling me _why_ you're laughing at me?" She cracked her knuckles to emphasize her point.

Arnold held up his hands in defence, gulping a bit. "W-Wait Helga, it's not like that! I wasn't laughing _at_ you, I swear. I just found it funny what you said there, it reminded me of what Gerald said that one time, and I thought it was funny."

Helga blinked, puzzled. "...So wait, let me get this straight, you're laughing because what I just said reminded you of what Geraldo once said? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, um, you said that whole thing of being stuck in an elevator, not having the time and being too short to reach the emergency hatch. I remembered how Gerald said 'We're stuck downtown, I'm a strawberry, and we don't have any money!', back when we were stuck downtown as fruits."

"Downtown as _fruits_?" It dawned on her then, this had to be back when Arnold and Gerald had mysteriously disappeared before the play was to begin, and then just came back before the play was to be pretty much cancelled. "You and tall-hair-boy went _downtown_ during the play? A play I worked really hard on and that was almost ruined because you two wanted to go out on the town? Well thank you SO much, Arnoldo. You have succeeded in insulting me."

"I...we..." Realizing what he'd said, he felt a sense of guilt run through him. He remembered that he and Gerald were tired of her bossy and bullying ways, and decided to pretty much get back at her by skipping out on the play she'd organized. They did make it back to perform their number, but the point was, they'd done something really...mean. And even though they came back, a much-needed apology wasn't even given. "Helga...I'm really sorry about that." Arnold managed, looking away from her. "It was pretty dumb of us, and I'm sorry we never apologized for it. There really is no excuse for it. All I can say is that we really shouldn't have done that."

Helga just let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, still scowling. "Whatever…Like I even cared whether you were a part of that stupid play or not. I just don't like being lied to! Hmph, and it serves you and tall hair boy right ending up stuck downtown in those stupid costumes!" Though a big part of how defensive she was acting right now was just to keep the conversation away from any heavy stuff, deep down Helga couldn't deny that she really had been hurt by ARNOLD, of all people, suddenly not showing up to be a part of her play. That was the first and only thing she'd ever written and publically shared (as opposed to her 'anonymous' poetry), and to have Arnold go from a central part of the grand finale to not showing up…and just because he'd decided to have some stupid adventure with Geraldo, it turned out? It…hurt a little…just like that prank of his at the April Fools Dance had hurt a little…

"Helga…?"

Helga started and her breath caught in her throat. She instantly turned her head and looked up to see Arnold now suddenly standing not too many feet from her, glancing down just a little shyly. "Y-yes…Arnold…?" Panic took over. 'He…why does he look like that? Like he's about to have some kind of talk with me… Oh….I…'

She watched him swallow, and then take a breath, and then suddenly kneel down and end up sitting on the floor in front of her. "Helga…can I…ask you something?"

"WHY?" She couldn't help asking this particular question, and she couldn't help to what extent it was said in a (painfully) obviously tense and suspicious tone.

Arnold blinked at the sudden word from her, but let it go, the guilt he was feeling all of a sudden superseding his curiosity about her sudden look of fear. "Oh, well…I just…wanted to make sure of something…if that's okay." He brought his eyes up to meet hers. "Please, Helga… I mean, you don't have to answer if you don't want to of course, but…it's kind of important to me…"

Helga swallowed hard, feeling her heart pound. 'Uh oh…this is bad. This is really REALLY bad… Maybe…maybe I could fake a heart attack or amnesia again or something, or maybe I should just push him away and call him a name, or maybe I should just break down and BEG him not to do this or maybe…maybe…' "O-okay, Arnold… Wh-what's on your m-mind?" She couldn't help it—there really was no way out of this. And if she did any of those things to TRY and get out of it, they probably wouldn't work for very long and either way he'd still have his question to ask and who knew how many hours before they'd finally get out of this stupid elevator. 'Maybe…maybe it really would be better if it just got brought up… At least all the anticipation would be over and I could finally quit having to look over my shoulder…'

Arnold, meanwhile, just gave a slight nod in acknowledgment of her go -head, cleared his throat, and began…kind of happy to at least be getting something out in the open between them. "Helga…is…is part of the reason you don't want to go to the dance tomorrow because of…what I did to you at the last dance? During April Fools day?"

Helga took a few seconds to process the question…and the mixture of confusion and elation that it brought (because where it had come from she had no idea…and yet the point was it was NOT about her confession). "Huh?" was all she finally managed, raising part of her brow at him.

Arnold took another breath, that distinct sensation of guilt running through him again. "It's just…I don't know, bringing up how me and Gerald left you alone like that with your play and upset you… it kind of reminded me of that prank with the pool. And also, well…I've been thinking about it lately and…" He brought his eyes up to meet hers again. "You know I'd never actually try and hurt you, right, Helga? I just…got carried away and…and I just want to make sure that you're not avoiding this dance all because you think someone might say something considering what happened at the last one." He looked at her very sincerely, quite genuinely concerned that his actions might have indeed had this effect upon the girl before him considering how upset she'd sounded about the thing with the play.

Helga remained silent for a second or two longer. And then…

"OW!" Arnold suddenly found himself rubbing his nose, which she had just flicked very hard. He opened his eyes and scowled at her. "Hey, what was that for?"

His eyes met Helga's scowl, now returned, and she crossed her arms over her chest and gave a firm 'Hmph!' before replying, "First of all it was to make you ease up on 'closing in on me', Football Head. Crimeny, I'm practically backed into this corner over here thanks to your need to ask me a simple question right in my face when you could have just as easily asked me from where you were standing before! And second…" she rolled her eyes dramatically, "For Pete's sake, get OVER yourself, Football Head! Do you honestly think I'd 'lock myself away in my room in despair' or something every time we have a school function just because you pulled a prank on me at one stupid fourth grade dance! Oh yes, Arnold, you have just got me 'all figured out' don't you—you are the 'center of my universe!' PLEASE!"

She scowled as darkly at him as she could muster. Yes, she knew her comeback had been highly suggestive of her confession…but she was starting to wonder if the best place to 'hide' at the moment wasn't right in plain sight. After all, the way he'd let her off the hook after her confession…maybe he really did have a doubt or two about how truthful it was…and if that was the case maybe making a few sarcastic comments now in a similar vein would be just the thing to help firm up his idea that she'd just been playing some stupid joke on him on the top of that building, just like the jokes she'd be throwing out at him now. 'Hey' it's not like I have anything else to lose—we really are going to run out of ways to distract each other pretty soon…I can feel it…'

Arnold, meanwhile, had kind of moved backward on his hands at her sudden speech against his question…and now he couldn't help blushing just a bit as that last sentence of hers processed…the one about him being the 'center of her universe'… He swallowed and shook his head, trying to move his thoughts elsewhere. "Helga, I was just…I just wanted to make sure, okay…?" And then he couldn't help scowling a bit himself as he added. "Besides you're the one who brought up back when we were talking about the dance after Gerald and Phoebe left with each other that maybe there was a chance that you weren't going because of my prank."

Helga glared at him. "Hey, I also said I wasn't going because it was going to be a night of our best friends making goo-goo eyes at each other and me just sitting in a chair drinking watered down punch and playing solitaire on the snack table."

He let out an exasperated sigh, still looking quite annoyed and now getting a little caught up in this sudden argument with her. "So, what, now you're saying that you ARE angry at me for leaving you alone with the Food Groups play but you're NOT angry with me for using a tango to toss you into a pool last April, and that the real reason you don't want to go to the dance tomorrow is because you don't have a date?"

"It's 'because'…" she quipped sarcastically, "I don't see any point in spending two hours in a room full of giggling grinning couples who are gonna give me a cavity with all of their mushiness? Okay, Arnold?" She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, both in anger at his sudden need to pry and in love at his sudden concern for her feelings. 'Darn it, why does he always get me so mixed up inside that I have to tell him the truth sooner or later, one way or another?'

A touch of confusion came to Arnold's already thoroughly annoyed look at her exclamation. "But there were couples at the last dance too—what's the difference?" Honestly, he didn't know why he cared so much all of a sudden about why Helga was so bent against the dance tomorrow night, but now that he'd started he couldn't stop. He had to get a straight answer from her...however stubborn or infuriating or evasive she chose to be before finally giving it to him.

"The difference was I had a date!" she finally admitted, suddenly flying right into his face, breathing heavily, her scowl faltering just slightly. And then she took one deep breath, closed her eyes and sat back again. "You win, okay? You're right, you finally figured it out—me not going to this stupid dance is mostly because I'd be going alone." She looked down in frustration. "Though why you'd even care makes no sense to me."

Several seconds of heavy silence passed. Eventually a blushing Arnold went to open his mouth.

"I'm gonna try and take a nap." She cut him off, not even glancing up…still looking somewhere between frustrated and hurt. "Wake me if we ever get out of this stupid elevator. Or if any food magically appears for dinner." And with that she turned away from him, lay down on her side and pulled up her knees a little. She was done for now.

Arnold just remained with his mouth partially open for several more seconds as he watched her resting form…and then eventually he moved himself away back toward the far wall and just let out a quiet breath. She might have needed a nap at the moment but what he needed was some serious time to think… Maybe a few minutes of silence would actually be good for the both of them.

'_Okay Arnold, just sit back and think for a while, now that she's quiet and taking a nap, you have free room to think about it.'_

Did her being alone at the dance tomorrow really bother her that much? Or, if he dared to think of it, was she more bothered at the idea of not being able to go with someone she _wanted_ to go with. She said it herself, at the April Fool's Dance, she actually had a date, A.K.A, him, and now at THIS particular dance, she'd be going on her own. Was she really insinuating that she wanted a date, namely..._him_?

He glanced toward her then, wondering if she was even asleep. She was breathing softly, evenly, not really moving, so she was probably asleep. Hopefully he wouldn't wake her up. That probably wouldn't end well either. So he kept as quiet as he could, even afraid to breathe in fear of breathing too loud. And tried to think this straight out.

If she had come up to him, and asked that they go to the dance together (he scoffed at the thought, shaking his head), despite that it was completely unlikely for her to do, it was an interesting thought yet again. If she'd asked, would he have accepted? It was hard to say. Granted, he didn't have someone he wanted to "truly" go with, considering he had given up on Lila not too long ago, and hadn't really had a crush on a girl since then. He was going along with Gerald for moral support, and even to see his friends on top of that. It wasn't a "date" thing he was after. Sure, it would have been pretty nice to have a date for the dance. Last time he did, the only time he really had a date, not quite counting the time he'd gone with Maria... He frowned lightly at the thought of that and shook his head.

And the entire April Fool's dance prank pretty much messed it up. Even now he still felt a stab of regret and guilt, having not meant hurt her in any way shape or form, and yet ended up doing so anyway. He had meant it when he said he'd never hurt her, but thinking it, he _did_ hurt her, didn't he? Not even Gerald's cheer up line of _"C'mon man, she deserved it anyway after all she put you through that day, and even all these years!"_ was enough to justify it. None of his selfish decisions could be justified, regardless of how they resulted.

It just wasn't who he was. At times maybe he was impulsive, and would get carried away, but in all, hurting someone on purpose, regardless of how they hurt him, just didn't sit well. Self defence, maybe, but that was another story.

Arnold shook his head again, and thought for a moment once more. Would things have been any different if he _hadn't_ found out about Helga tricking him about being blind? Or hadn't agreed with Gerald about getting back at her? What then? Would things have been different? Would she still pretend she was blind, even after it was all over? Would they have...had a good time? Would they have ended up dancing like so?

That was another thought, he blushed a bit upon looking back at how..._flirtatious _his dancing with her might have been. He knew the tango was a very intimate and close dance between two people, and the other students WERE doing the tango with their respective dance partner, but theirs was more low key and traditional dancing around. But he took it to a whole new level, and danced with Helga in a way he'd never imagined he'd dance with her before. Twirling her, dipping her one too many times, bringing her close (also one too many times), and even having spoken to her in a flirty and even _suggestive_ manner, especially when he'd said _"Don't worry my poor, blind friend, you're in good hands"_, and once more he wondered where that _came_ from. Part of the distraction? Or was there just something else deep in his mind he couldn't explain?

That was just it, he couldn't explain _any_ of it. Especially in regards to how he felt when he thought of the manner. Especially about, if he dared, the fact that she... lo...well, loved...

Arnold exhaled once more, keeping it low so as not to wake Helga, and sat back down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. How long had they been here? Minutes and seconds seemed to tick by for an eternity. The mall had probably long closed by now, and Gerald and Phoebe either had an indication of their absence, or didn't know at all. But then there were his Grandparents, they would likely get worried, wouldn't they? And then there were her parents... But he frowned lightly at the thought of them. He was pretty aware that they were nowhere near the perfect parents and often seemed to forget Helga existed. That didn't sit well with him at all, and he often wondered why. Her sister Olga was a pretty obvious pinpoint, from what he could see, since he and everyone at P.S. 118 knew of her, being such a "legend" and all.

Shaking his head again, he got back on the topic of his thoughts.

'_Gosh, it's still hard to think about... Helga actually...l-loves...me... I mean, that's not a bad thing at all, and she's perfectly capable of loving someone, nothing about her stops her from it. Not at all. She's a human being and she has feelings, of course she'll...fall in love when the right person comes along._' Once again he blushed at the thought. '_I guess I just can't wrap my head around the fact that she's in love with ME. I guess I've had girls have a crush on me, like me like me...but love? That's a little...strong, isn't it? Okay okay, never mind that now. The point is, I have Helga of all people in love with me. She just has a hard time showing it because of everything in her life. I guess I can see why she has trouble being herself with me, but...why? I wouldn't make her feel stupid or silly for anything she said, even if I disagreed with it. Okay, that's a pretty dumb question. Never mind that.'_

Thinking about it more, he couldn't help but let his green eyes wander over to the other occupant of the elevator as she slept quietly, her body raising up and down from each breath she took. Sleeping like a baby.

XXXXXXXXX

Something was definitely wrong.

Gerald knew it as he patiently waited at the bus stop for Phoebe to arrive. As he'd somehow expected, Arnold was STILL not home. The mall had closed about an hour ago by now, and he knew Arnold was responsible and would call home if he was going somewhere else before going back. He'd called the boarding house, and Phil had confirmed his suspicions that Arnold hadn't come home or called. Gerald felt bad about lying to the old man, just as Phoebe had done to Olga, as a cover up, but then again he didn't want to raise a panic, there was probably a logical explanation for it, as Phoebe had said.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder. Where had Arnold gone? What was he doing? Why didn't he call?

And moreover, was Helga involved?

That was another thing too, his best friend had been acting a little...strange whenever Helga was around or mentioned. Gerald had been certain at first that it was because of the guilt eating him up about the April Fool's Day dance, but for some reason, it seemed a little more confusing than just that. Something didn't add up, and he wasn't sure why.

HAHAHAHAHA

'I HATE that Football Headed little jerk!' Helga couldn't help but seethe to herself as she tried to slow her breathing, her eyes already shut, so that she could maybe actually get in a quick catnap and escape this, at this point, completely unbearable situation!

But at the same time, despite these thoughts and the frustrated feelings accompanying them considering how Arnold had just egged her into kind of an embarrassing admission about her avoidance of the dance…as always she couldn't help that aching, loving feeling coursing through her in regards to the little football head as well. 'Why does he have to do that? It's like he keeps trying to get closer to me or something ever since I blabbed. Doesn't he realize that it's just making things harder for me? I mean, it was bad enough knowing deep down that I'd never get another date with Arnold again after that whole April Fools thing, but then he has to rub it in by making me basically admit out loud that I…that even though he basically used my feelings to turn me into a laughingstock last time that I'd still go with him tomorrow…that being with him is basically the ONLY way I'd go tomorrow…'

She felt her breath catch in her throat, and tried to rally her anger again to cover up the hurt. 'Stupid little paste for brains, football headed, creep!' She shifted just a little and then really did try and let her thoughts wander off… Who knew—maybe a little sleep would be just the thing she needed to make things feel better…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Very unused to the sight of a calm, almost serene seeming Helga G. Pataki, Arnold, after several minutes of watching her sleep, found himself first craning his neck a little to try and get a bit of a better look at her (at her face, specifically, which was still turned away from him)…and then finally crawling across the floor a little, trying to get a better view of her. Finally within a few feet he could just make out the profile of her now content and calm looking face…and he had to smile at the sight. For once, she didn't have that scowl, and she wasn't yelling at him…and he could finally just even look in her direction without her blowing up at him (which he had been noticing she had been doing more and more frequently and harshly whenever he got anywhere near her ever since the, uh…FTi 'incident').

After a few seconds, though, Arnold couldn't help but find himself frowning a little…recalling the elevator predicament they were still both in and wishing that he really could find a way out for them like she really seemed to want. He hadn't really considered it before, but…if being trapped in here was difficult on him then being trapped in here must have been making her feel nearly panicked. This whole secret was just awkward for him…but it was everything for her… and how she'd just shut down after blowing up about the whole 'date' thing had made that pretty clear.

Suddenly Arnold felt his stomach grumble and couldn't help but recall Helga's joke before about any food 'magically appearing' for dinner. He checked his pockets…and suddenly a smile came to his face as he felt his hands rest upon something flat and cool and in a wrapper…and he pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket (an item there courtesy of the weekly locker checks Chocolate Boy had been asking him to do while he continued trying to be more addicted to radishes than his old friend, Chocolate). Arnold was about to open it and break off a piece for himself, but then paused and his eyes fell to Helga. Then he smiled a little more and placed the wrapped bar on the floor near her and sat back. 'It'd be rude to eat some of it while she's asleep…besides I'd rather she had the whole thing. It…feels like the right thing to do.'

Now sitting back with his knees pulled to his chest, Arnold suddenly felt himself yawn and then his eyelids go a little heavy. "Maybe…maybe I'll take a nap…too…" He shifted onto his side and before long he was dozing off as well…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

"Gerald, I know going back to the mall is certainly our best bet for finding out what happened to Arnold and Helga since that is the last place we saw them but…if they're not there or there are no clues to there whereabouts, what do you think we should do?" Phoebe, the concern more than evident in her eyes and tone, gazed sadly out of the bus window as twilight slowly overwhelmed the city.

Gerald let out a breath, and looked in her direction reassuringly. "We'll probably finally have to go to the adults then… Arnold and Helga might get in trouble but it's better than the two of them staying lost all night."

Phoebe let out a worried sigh, and the sound couldn't help but make Gerald lift up his hand and put it on her shoulder. "Hey…" he smiled, "Don't worry, babe. I'm sure we'll bump into them trying to get on this bus just as we're trying to get off of it or something… They probably just decided to get some dinner around there or maybe catch a movie. And even if they're not then, what's the worst that'll happen?" He shrugged. "Arnold's Grandpa'll drive through the neighborhood a couple of times and probably pick them up just messing around somewhere…if Arnold and Helga aren't already home by the time we get back, that is."

Phoebe turned to face him…now with a smile on her face, much to his delight. "Thank you, Gerald…" she said appreciatively.

His smile warmed a bit. "Don't mention it, babe…"

There was a sweet moment of silence between the two kids…

The bus lurching to one of its pre-mall stops quickly made Gerald blink though and break from Phoebe's gaze. He blushed just a little and glanced away sheepishly. "Uh…well, I guess we just have to wait to reach the mall then…"

Phoebe gave a slight giggle and glanced down sheepishly as well, a slight blush likewise upon her face. "Indeed…"

The bus ride continued.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Somewhere in the darkness of the ventilation system of a certain mall, a lone 81-year-old figure crawled, burnt cork under her eyes and a black ski cap on her head.  
Taking several minutes to unscrew the bolts from a vent in front of her, the elderly (but quite powerful) woman pushed the hatch open and, with a smile, found herself in the empty section of the elevator shaft. "Bingo!"

Gertie tossed a grappling hook on the end of a rope across to the other side of the shaft, and then, giving it a quick tug to make sure it was secure, pushed herself out of the vent and swung forward and proceeded to rappel down to the top of the stuck elevator below her. When that little girl had called the boarding house before concerned about her grandson and Eleanor, Gertie had recalled right away that Kimba had mentioned going to the mall that afternoon and so she'd taken off in an instant to that location. After breaking in and walking around, glancing at a few stores (all of which were dark, quiet and locked up tight) she'd decided to sneak into the breaker room and flick on the power switch just to be certain that Kimba and Eleanor were indeed elsewhere—if the kids were there they'd certainly come out if all of the lights suddenly came on. It was then, though, upon trying to get to the second floor to check things out, that she'd noticed the elevators not working despite the fact that the power was on.

Dropping to the top of the elevator, Gertie now used some of her tools in the utility belt she'd brought to unscrew the ceiling panel below her and carefully remove it…and then she peeked inside to see if the kids were indeed there.

Though she'd been more than ready, considering her adrenaline rush right now, to swoop in and either hotwire the elevator or get her grandson and his lady friend out using her rope…she had to instead pause and smile for quite a few moments at the sight before her.

Her grandson was sleeping soundly on his side upon the floor, a smile on his face. And that young Helga girl was turned toward him, sleeping and smiling as well…and each of them had a hand extended in their sleep, their fingertips touching.

After admiring this sight for a couple more seconds, Gertie let out a quiet sigh, removed her head from the elevator, and then commenced to rescrewing in the ceiling panel. 'Well, the point is the kids are safe. Besides, they're only a few feet from the first floor anyway…' She glanced at some of the electrical cables coming off of the top of the elevator…and a small, slightly frayed red one caught her eye. 'Just as I thought—just a small glitch in the wiring. Nothing dangerous…' Her mind flashed back to the image of the two children all but holding hands in their sleep below her. 'And the two of them do seem to be enjoying themselves…just like me and the General when we were young…'

And with an amused shake of her head and a maniacal laugh, Gertie proceeded to use her rope to pull her back up to the vent to leave the children in peace.

HAHAHAHAHA

Blinking his eyes open, Arnold found the surprising sight of Helga sitting in the middle of the elevator floor, a few feet away from him. To his utmost surprise, which wasn't just her closeness, but the fact that she had a genuine, pleasant smile on her face. She sat there, her hands clasped in her lap like an obedient school girl, her blue eyes shimmering with warmth and adoration.

"Hey Arnold, sleep well?" She asked.

Unable to quite fathom what was happening, Arnold managed to sit up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, wondering if doing so would change the whole image and Helga would be sitting at her end of the elevator, scowling up a storm and complaining about their situation. But no, she wasn't. When he looked at her again, she was in the exact same spot she'd been before, only now looking at him with mild confusion.

"Something wrong? You okay?"

Finding his voice, he finally managed to answer her, even if his voice didn't quite come out the way he wanted it to. It came out nervous and a little bit squeaky. "I'm fine... Helga, but um, what's with the sudden mood change?"

"Mood change? Arnold, come on, can't I take a moment to show someone I love just how much they mean to me? Mainly...you?"

He felt his cheeks get hot, and tried to back away, but unfortunately for him, he had nowhere to go, especially since the wall of the elevator was right up behind him.

Helga giggled at this and moved to kneel in front of him, eyeing him with pure amusement. "You look pretty nervous. Scared of me now?"

"N-No it's not that, I..." But Arnold failed to mask his nervousness, especially since his cheeks grew pinker than before. "I just don't understand why you're suddenly acting so nice. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's good that you've calmed down and trying to make the best of the situation and all, but it's just... What brought this on?"

"Arnold, to be honest... I've been thinking a lot." Helga sighed, and looked back at him. "I just...really want you to know that I meant what I said before, on the roof of the FTi building. I guess...you deserve a straight answer, you know? That's what you want, isn't it? A straight answer about how I feel?"

As he thought about it, he did have an idea of what her "straight answer" was, because as he thought more and more about it, it really could not have just been a fleeting, spur-of-the-moment kind of confession where she fell in love with him on the spot, or was using a believable alibi for why she did what she did in helping him and Gerald save the neighbourhood over getting rich off the deal. What she did, it had to have been planned, constructed, and especially with the main reason behind it. So even when she took the bait to take it back, it was more of a silent understanding between them. That's all it was, right?

But maybe it was time he had a straight and honest answer from her. Straight from the source.

"...I...I think that'd be...it'd be good if we could just be honest with each other." He admitted.

"I figured you'd say that, football head." Helga responded, but the insult was said with more affection than spite. "Arnold..." She looked him in the eye. "...I'm in love with you. I love you."

"_I love you_._"_

Her words played off in Arnold's head like a song on repeat. It was out, her secret, her true feelings were out. Honest and direct. That was it. No more hiding. It was all out. She was in love with him, plain and simple. It was admittedly still very surprising to hear in clear words, but it confirmed what he already knew.

"Now, I need to know Arnold...do _you_ love me?"

Arnold's eyes widened with surprise at her question. He had _not_ expected that at all. A question about his own feelings. That made him think then, just how did HE feel about HER? Did he feel the same way? Did he not? He was very confused in regards to his own feelings.

From time to time he did think of it, although tried not to sometimes, and he knew a few things. He did like her, a lot more than he let on. When she was being herself and wasn't putting up her walls to keep people away, she was a very interesting person, and of course he knew that deep down she was sweet, kind, helpful and was of course perfectly capable of caring for others. She had a good heart, no matter how much she didn't want people to know that.

But did he like her romantically? That was something he couldn't even come close to answering. Not now, anyway. He still had a lot to figure out, to think about, before coming to that decision. He just wasn't sure. Admittedly he wasn't hugely fond of the idea, since he wasn't sure, but he was far from repulsed by it. She may not have been on his top list of girls he'd want to date, but she also wasn't on the list of girls he _wouldn't_ date.

'_So how DO I feel about her? I want to give her a straight answer, but it's not that simple. I can't just say I love her back, I don't even know if I do. And I can't say I don't like her that way either. Why can't I be sure? Why does it have to be so confusing? Shouldn't there be an obvious answer as to how I should feel?_

That was the problem. There was NO obvious answer to this. The obvious answer was not what most would speculate, which was "No.", was not the obvious answer. "Yes" wasn't the obvious answer either.

Moreover, what WAS the answer? How did he feel? Why didn't he, Arnold, who knew a lot of answers, not have an answer to that? Why didn't he know? It was HIS feelings, HIS experience, not someone else's, he should know this!

But he didn't.

Helga's voice then interrupted his train of thought, making him snap his gaze back to her.

"You...you hate me, don't you?" It was more of a statement than a question, and given her sad gaze, it was obvious she believed it.

The question shocked him, and the pure truth that she seemed to believe actually made his heart sink. Did she really believe he hated her? Had he come off as hating her? The thought of that made him feel a bit sad. It wasn't true. He didn't hate her. Far from it. Granted, he was annoyed with her a lot of the time, and didn't like it when she was mean, but hate? Hate was a strong word, and he didn't tend to use that word, not without a good reason. Not that he had any. Yes, he had his share of people he didn't like, but hate? Arnold didn't hate anyone. Just didn't like them or liked being around them, plain and simple.

And he didn't hate Helga. He could never hate her. No matter what she did, he couldn't stay mad at her for long, let alone hate her.

"Helga, I don't hate you." Arnold managed. "I've never hated you. Why would you think that I hated you?"

Helga sighed, playing nervously with the hem of her dress. "Arnold, you never gave me an answer, and I just don't seem to know how you feel! Can I help it if I thought you hated me?" She waved her arms around angrily, and stopped when he grabbed them to calm her.

"I don't hate you, like I said, I never hated you. I just...don't know how I feel about you. If I knew, I'd have told you. I can't say I...feel the same way, but I can't say that I don't feel the same way either. It's complicated."

She was silent for a few minutes, and then gave a smile. "Mmm... I see. Well I don't know Arnold, call me crazy, but during the April Fool's Dance when you had that rather..._feisty_ tango with me, you really seemed to actually enjoy it. I saw the way you looked at me, the way you danced with me, held me close...you can even say it was beyond what kids our age would even do. So what's that about?"

"Well, um..."

"Then there was that time I invited you and Geraldo to have dinner with Phoebe and I at Chez Paris...even after the fiasco and we ended up washing dishes, you were still pretty nice. And you _flirted _with me then."

"I-I did...?"

Helga smirked lightly. "You did Arnold."

"Well, I..." Arnold blushed a bit at the memory.

"And you know, you didn't exactly resist all those times I kissed you."

His cheeks grew even hotter at the memories of those times she'd kissed him right on the lips, the first being during the school play the previous year, then on the beach under the pretence of it being mouth-to-mouth, then the third...the sole kiss that was unscripted, the real kiss.

"Helga, I was supposed to be playing dead the first two times, and then you took me by complete surprise during the third-_mmmm_...!"

The meeting of their lips had cut him off before he could finish, and was once again taken by surprise. How did he not see her coming closer? How did he not catch sight of her lips coming to his?

But even as he tried to move away, her arms came around him and held him close to her, and as much as he tried to escape, Arnold fell limp and felt his heart race a million miles an hour and his insides turn to putty. He was a goner.

"Arnold..." A soft, faraway voice called out to him, and he felt something touch his hand. But that was impossible, his hands were limp at his sides and nothing was within touching range, and her hands were too busy grabbing at his hair and head.

XXXXXX

A bright light came to his eyes, as Arnold suddenly came to...waking up? What the? Wasn't he already awake? What was going on?

"Arnold..."

That voice again! It was...Helga? Obviously, she was the only other occupant of the elevator. Any other noise outside would've been muffled, but no, it was clear as day, and right beside him.

Opening his eyes, and flinching slightly at the bright light, and using his free hand to shield himself, he suddenly became aware of his surroundings and what had happened.

Wait, free hand? Why was his other hand occupied?

As Arnold cleared his vision, he then saw why his hand felt a light weight over it. It was because Helga had hers placed over it.

Little had they known, in their sleep, Helga had not only turned toward him, they had stretched their hands out with their fingertips touching. Then somehow, she'd reached out a little further, and how had her hand over his. Much to his surprise, how did that happen? Did he suddenly fall back to sleep after-

It had been a dream. Just a silly dream.

But before he could think about it further, he heard Helga stirring and then yawn softly, indicating that she was waking up.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Arnold felt his breath catch in his throat, his heart starting to pound! What would happen when she opened her eyes and saw her hand atop his…him letting her hold his hand…? Indeed, she was obviously mere seconds from being fully awake, which meant that even if he pulled away from her now she'd feel it and know what the situation had been…and actually, the only thing that course of action might do was make things worse (what if that made Helga think he hated her…?) Arnold knew now, of course, that all of that stuff just now had been a dream, but still…thinking about it, it didn't seem a far cry from what the real Helga might be thinking, all things considered. And anyway, even if her opening her eyes and realizing she was holding his hand didn't bring up the topic of 'love'…her opening her eyes to the feeling of him pulling his hand away and having it bring up the topic of 'hate' seemed pretty likely to lead to the topic of 'love' one way or another…

And so, Arnold, in his worry and fear did the only thing he could think of to do.

He closed his eyes, hoped his blushing wasn't too obvious, and decided to pretend to still be asleep. That way if Helga woke up she could just move herself away from him without feeling embarrassed…and also, well…HE wouldn't have to deal with this awkward situation either. Of course, Arnold didn't like being deceptive but…this was a desperate time, after all… 'I just…I just can't talk about how she loves me right now!' Arnold couldn't help but think in loud panic. 'I know it's better to always talk things out and to not keep secrets and to be direct with people but…but…' That smiling, happy eyed girl from his dreams who had caught him in a surprise kiss flashed through his mind and only made his worry and confusion even worse! "I know we need to talk but this is HELGA G. PATAKI LOVING ME—'

His thoughts cut off instantly at the sound of a sharp breath being taken in by the person currently to his side.

Arnold stopped breathing and waited, still trying his best to seem asleep…and still not feeling Helga's hand move from atop his own. 'Please just let her take it away…let her take it away and then I'll wait a few minutes and pretend to wake up and we can pretend like this whole thing never happened! Just like with the FTi building! And then someone will come along and find us and let us out of here, and we can finally go back to…go back to…' And it was then that Arnold almost felt a heavy sigh escape him…because what would they be going back to, when you got right down to it? More acting like nothing had happened? More avoiding being alone with each other? More of her acting like she hated him, and more of him acting like…well, like he wasn't just a little more curious about her now at least…after all, she—

"Okay, okay…I'm holding his hand…I was an idiot and let myself actually fall asleep and of course I dreamed about him like I do every night…But he's still asleep so…no situation…"

Needless to say Arnold's thoughts had cut off and he'd suddenly become all ears at the sound of Helga's voice…and as she'd finished this quick whispered statement to herself, he was really quite certain his heartbeat must be so loud that it would give him away as being awake. 'She dreams about…me?'

He felt Helga continue to hold his hand…and heard her continue to whisper to herself.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Gazing over the slumbering form of her beloved, Helga let out a deep sigh, feeling herself, despite her slight worry, smile just a little. "Oh well…At least something good's come out of this whole elevator mess…I got to hold your hand my beloved…"

Helga allowed herself to increase her pressure on his small, perfect warm hand just a little…just to really savor the feeling of his skin against her skin…Something to tide her over until the next bit of happy accidental physical contact with her beloved.

"Oh Arnold…" She sighed again, speaking as quietly to herself as possible…and feeling herself finally give in to a frown as this whole ridiculous, unending, self-inflicted situation washed over her for about the millionth time ever since she'd confessed. "I…I've really made a mess of things, haven't I?" She took in the sight of his angelic little face…probably hiding a thousand terrified emotions from having to be in here with her right now…from having her be any part of his life in general, actually, all things considered. "Putting you through all of this stuff just because I couldn't hold it in anymore….just because I had to open my big mouth, as usual…only this time in a way about a million times worse than with just usual taunts and insults to hide my true feelings." She paused once more in her out loud whispers…and felt her heart break just a little. She sighed once more, closing her eyes for just a second to really take in that feeling of his hand underneath her own…the way they seemed to fit perfectly, to go perfectly together… Yet another cruel irony in her life.

"You really must hate me…" she said to herself in a dull voice.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Arnold suddenly felt Helga release his hand…and dared to barely peek open one of his eyes, observing her.

She was just sitting up, facing away from him, hands pulled to her chest, and talking quietly to herself. "Ugh…and then on top of all the confession stuff I admitted to him I wanted him to ask me to that stupid dance just now…just like I've wanted him to ask me to every stupid dance or movie or day trip to Dino Land or freaking lunch period in the cafeteria ever since we met!"

She let out an exasperated sigh…as Arnold, meanwhile, allowed his eyes to open fully…continuing to observe her…

"Great…" she went on, "Now he's probably going to wake up and ask me to go out of some stupid feeling of pity. Like he owes me for the April Fools dance or something… Of course, he'll try and be nice about it—he's Arnold, after all. But then I'm going to have to be the one to turn down the one guy on the planet I'd kill for a date with and he's so freaking clueless he's not even going to get how that would make me feel!"

He sat up now, continuing to watch her…continuing to not make a sound.

She let out a scoff. "But who am I kidding? I brought this on myself… treating him like garbage all these years to keep things secret then blowing his universe apart on that building…then acting like it didn't happen. I'm surprised he didn't throw in the inevitable rejection right before he tossed me in that pool like he had every right to do considering all the stuff between us…"

Having crawled just a bit closer to her now, Arnold managed to just hear her whisper under her breath to herself… "I stole his first real kiss… He MUST hate me…" She inhaled. "Probably only still acting nice to me out of some stupid unfounded fear that I'll pound him if he doesn't…"

"I don't hate you."

"AH!" Came the high-pitched yelp from Helga as the sudden sound of these simple words broke her out of her small monologue and caused her to spasm and twist around in fright…

…Only to see Arnold sitting not more than a couple of feet from her, blushing and looking down shyly...nervously…

Helga took several heavy quick breaths, glanced around in absolute terror, and then shot forward and instantly grabbed him by the collar, scowling darkly. "How the heck long were you eavesdropping on me, you pathetic little jerk? I have half a mind to—"

For several seconds she just remained in this position, glaring into his wide eyes, breathing heavily…and then something processed with her.

"You…don't…hate me?"

It took Arnold a second, in his slight fright, to process the question. When he did, he let out a breath and shook his head, his eyes still wide.

Helga took a deep breath in…and a deep breath out…and then released him.

She then sat back a couple of feet away from him, pulling her knees to her chest. A few seconds of silence passed while she seemed in thought about something…and then she spoke again. "You...you still shouldn't have listened in on me like that… Nearly scared the heck out of me…" She scowled just a little. "For crying out loud, like I'm not on edge enough ALREADY being stuck in this stupid elevator…"

"I…I know… Sorry, Helga…" she heard him say quietly. She glanced at him and noticed that he was now just sitting there once again with that nervous, shy countenance just like when she'd first turned around… "I just…wanted to hear what you had to say, I guess…"

A second of silence passed.

"I…had a dream too, Helga…" Arnold closed his eyes, trying to control his blushing, as he continued to speak, all of a sudden. "Um…and in the dream you thought the same thing…that I hate you." He swallowed and opened his eyes again. "But I don't."

"Yeah, you said that already, paste for brains." A now full7 scowling again Helga rolled her eyes. "And not that I'm not flattered by the fact that you can at least stand me, Arnoldo, but is there a point to this sudden insight of yours or—" She didn't mean to be getting so defensive but she was trying to distract them away from this 'truth' thing as quickly and smoothly as possible…and also he had just indirectly confirmed that he'd heard that comment she'd made about dreaming about him, the consequences of which she could NOT deal with right now. 'Great, more icing on the freaking cake…'

"I just…wanted you to know." Arnold, meanwhile, suddenly finished quickly and quietly, barely glancing at her. "And…and also…" He blushed just slightly…a fact not lost on Helga…who was now looking at him with just the tiniest bit of curiosity underlying her glare.

"Also…" 'Just say it…it's…it's how you feel so…just say it as long as you're finally both talking right now… She deserves to know the truth, anyway…' Arnold swallowed and finally managed to will his shy words on… "If I…if I did ask you to that dance tomorrow…it wouldn't be to make up for the April Fools dance or out of pity or something… It would be because I'd want to go with you…because you're kind of…nice and…and fun, sometimes. And because…well…like I said, I…don't hate you." He knew it was a lame finish but it was the best he could come up with at the moment, considering how much his heart was pounding and how much heat he could feel in his face, and with the amount of knots currently in his stomach. "So, that's why I would go with you…If I asked you, I mean…" he tacked on in a quick conclusion.

Helga's jaw fell just slightly as she processed this reply, meanwhile…which actually took her quite a few seconds. "Huh?" She knew it was a lame response to something like that but it was the only thing she could get out of her mouth at the moment, considering how her heart was fluttering like mad and how she could practically feel the pink flooding her cheeks and how her insides were twisting in delightful (though at the same time totally confused) delight.

Silence reigned for several seconds as the thoughts of both kids raced…

'_Did he really just say that? Does he REALLY mean that? He'd want to go to the dance...with me? ME? Helga G. Pataki...and not Little Miss Perfect? Me? Really? ME?'_ Helga thought, her heart racing faster, if possible, and her gaze fixated on the boy before her, who was blushing heavily and looking all over, anywhere but at her. She searched his eyes for deception, but no, this was Arnold, he wouldn't do that. He seemed nervous, like what he said was a bad thing.

But it wasn't. Not in the least.

Opening her mouth and _finally_ finding her voice, Helga managed to speak out her question.

"...So...you _would_ want to go with me?"

Arnold finally looked at her, his blush still evident on his cheeks, his hands grasping the fabric of his red and yellow plaid shirt he wore under his sweater, still nervous and shy, but he managed to nod slowly in confirmation of what she'd asked.

A silence passed them over again, how long had it been? Had they been asleep all night? Was it morning now? Or was it the middle of the night? How long were they quiet like this?

Shaking her head, Helga still couldn't believe her ears. Arnold, the love of her life, the very boy who truly didn't hate her, the very boy she pined for since the day she met him, the one person in her life who made getting out of bed in the morning completely worth it, the one person she looked forward to seeing at school every day, the very person she was stuck in an elevator with for who-knows-how-long, had just openly said he would go to the dance with her. Because he _wanted _to, not because he felt he owed her after the April Fool's Day incident. He wanted to go to the dance with her. He wanted to be her date for the dance. He'd do so if she wanted him to.

'_I must be dreaming.'_ She thought, and inconspicuously pinched herself on the arm. It hurt, which meant she wasn't dreaming. '_Oh Arnold my love... Your kind and sweet words have moved me so! He wants to go to the dance with me, I don't believe it. Arnold wants to go with me to the dance! And because he WANTS to! He wants to go with me!_

A smile crept to face before she could stop herself, feeling giddy and as if she could just stand up and dance around in a fit of joy. But of course she couldn't do that, not right now, anyway. Not until she was in the safety of her room, and in her Arnold shrine. Her heart swelled, her insides melted, and her knees felt weak from where she sat.

"Helga?" His voice interrupted her train of thought and snapped her out of her reverie.

"Huh?" Helga blinked, coming back to earth and falling out of her lovesick stupor. She put on a neutral gaze, hoping he didn't see too much of her...lovesick side. Then again, who was she kidding, the cat was out of the bag. There was no use hiding it. Stupid pride. "Well Football Head, I'm surprised at you. I'm surprised you weren't opted to going with _Lila_."

The name of the girl in question was spoken with contempt, much to Arnold's confusion.

Arnold gave a sigh, and shook his head, thinking back to the time she had actually comforted him when Lila rejected his feelings, and then that other time pretending to be his girlfriend to make Lila jealous. So obviously she knew he liked her, but she hadn't known he had given up on her not too long ago, did she? And even if he hadn't, he was sure Lila would say no anyway, because it would seem "too much like a date".

"No, I...well...got over Lila a few weeks ago, before the FTi incident, to be honest." He admitted softly, catching her attention. "Even if I hadn't, she would have said no. I just know it. So I guess I just gave up trying, no matter what I did, I couldn't get her to like me like me."

"You...are over _Lila_?" Helga asked in shock, and yet feeling her heart jump in joy at this. Now Lila was no longer standing in her way! It was no wonder Arnold hadn't said anything along the lines of liking Lila back during her confession atop the FTI building. But even if he DID still like Lila at the time, would he have used that to reject her still? Even if Lila continuously told him there was no chance with her? "Wow, the day you're over Lila would be the day that pigs knew how to fly!"

"I'm serious." Arnold said, leaning his head against the wall to stare up at the ceiling of the elevator. "I mean, I tried hard to get her to like me like me just as she did before I told her it wasn't me who wrote the message on the wall. And then that time you actually helped me out..." A little smile came to his face at the memory. '_It was nice of her to do that... Even if her real motivation was just to be near me for a while. But it was nice that she was thinking about my feelings._' "Anyway, and sometimes I didn't even know what to do. I'd ask her to the movies, she'd say no because it seemed too much like a date. Same thing if I asked her to a dance or something. Then I ask her to the Cheese Festival, and she goes with me. And even made me believe there was a chance of her liking me back the same way I liked her, after...well, some mishaps happened, and then after... I don't know, it's like it never happened after that. Things just went back to the way they were."

_'That little She-Devil! Giving my beloved false hope and then just SNATCHING it away! That sweetness isn't fooling me, she has the Devil's horns hidden under all that Devilish red hair! She was practically dangling the keys to her heart in his face out of his reach!'_ Helga thought, inwardly seething and then clenching her fists. While a part of her marvelled at how Arnold was opening up to her about how he felt about something, kind of like he did back on the day they'd spent most of Thanksgiving together, wandering the city and the pier, she was pretty peeved by this point.

"Frankly Arnoldo, you're better off without her." She finally said, crossing her arms. "You just weren't meant to be. Like I said before, there's plenty of fish in the sea. That was pretty dumb of her, just going out and saying that there's a chance, and just gives you false hope and then takes it away!"

"Well, to be fair, it's not as if she did it on purpose, she was just really grateful that I helped her and I guess maybe that was it."

"It's still not right you know, she may as well have just gone with you out of pity. But whatever." Helga waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "Point is, you're over her."

Arnold blinked, and then nodded, finally looking her way. "Yeah Helga, I'm over her by now."

Once more, silence befell the two of them. It wasn't quite as tense as before, but it was still there, leaving them both to wonder...what next? What would they do? Were they ever getting out of here? What time was it? How long had they been sleeping? Did anyone even know they were missing? Better yet, if they DID know they were missing, would they know where to look? Did anyone even know that they were stuck in an elevator?

Amidst these questions, Arnold glanced over at the blonde, pigtailed girl as she too seemed to be lost in thought. What was she thinking about? What was going on in that head of hers? He got to thinking what he'd said, about how he would want to go to the dance with her because he _wanted_ to, not because he felt he had to. Would she accept it? Would she shed down her walls and just let it happen? Would she still be adamant about not going? He knew she did want to go with him, that was obvious, since she didn't want to go if she couldn't go with him.

But then there was their classmates, that would be a problem. Sometimes when they were alone, she let down her walls and let herself be true to who she really was, but when any of their classmates were around, that was when she didn't even come close to being herself. Goodness knows the dance would be full of their classmates, and would see them together if they came. Would that also be a problem for her? So much so that she wouldn't let it happen?

Was it worth a try?

Arnold weighed the pros and cons of the idea.

Pros: He DID want to genuinely go with her, and he knew she did too, so it would be consensual in that sense. Helga was a very interesting and fun person when she wasn't using her bullying walls, so he knew he definitely wouldn't get bored with her. They had a lot of fun together and even made a great team when they put their differences aside, so they would definitely have a good time. He could spend time with her, get to know her more, see her more for who she really was. It would all even help him to decide how he felt about her and maybe someday, let it all build up to actually talking about what had had happened during the FTi incident and come to a full conclusion. It could be the start of a great friendship...or even more.

Cons: She would likely say no just to keep her reputation safe. She would be constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure no one could see them or make comments about them. She would probably avoid him all evening, or worse, keep up her facade just so no one would get the idea of how she really felt. They would probably feel tense, awkward and nervous before, during and after it all. Maybe they would never spend time together afterward. Maybe she would really want to forget it all and not let anything happen between them.

Did the pros outweigh the cons? Was it worth giving it a shot?

As nervous as he was, considering the cons, he _did_ want to have a chance to spend time with her, and try to think about his feelings and finally give her a straight answer.

Before he could stop himself, his voice betrayed him as he opened his mouth.

"Helga...do you want to go to the dance...with me?"


	4. What happens in an elevator

**NintendoGal55: Hello one and all and welcome back! Last time... Arnold actually asked Helga to the dance! OH MY! Will she say yes? Will things pick up between them? Intense people, intense! READ ON AND FIND OUT! Anyway, lastly, I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read and review this story. It's been so much fun for us working together and we're glad you guys have received it well. We hope our future collaborations will catch you guys too! Thanks again and have a nice day. Oh, and there is a line down there that I swear is NOT a Jurassic Park reference. *Whistles innocently***

**Azure129: ALERT, ALERT, ARNOLD FINALLY FREAKING ASKED HELGA OUT! Lol, what kind of awkward chaos will THIS new development bring to the elevator currently housing our favorite couple? ;) How will Helga respond? How will Arnold react? How will YOU react! And where will things go from here? Well there's a very simple way to go about finding all of the answers to these questions-READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE! :D Your comments are the fuel that keeps our HA! inspiration going! **

**Disclaimer: Let's see...eggs, bread, cookies...DARN IT! I KNEW there was something I forgot to pick up when I was at the store before! The rights to HA! (DUH!) Oh well, until my next shopping trip, then, this show does NOT belong to us! (Aw man and I already spent all of my money this week acquiring the rights to the Pixar movies... Now I've gotta wait until my NEXT multi million dollar paycheck to own this series!)/Once again, we do NOT own the series or the characters. How dumb would we have to be to say that we do?**

H A H A H A H A H A H A H A

Helga sat, frozen in shock at his question. He had actually asked her to the dance. He was actually ASKING HER TO THE DANCE! Together! On a date! Going to the dance together.

"...Helga? I mean, if you don't want to go or anything, or would rather go just as friends, it's perfectly fine with me, or we could go with Gerald and Phoebe since they're going together, and if it's too last minute in case you'd have to buy a dress or something, it's fine, we really don't have to go if you don't-" Arnold stammered nervously, blushing hard and feeling the knots in his stomachs seem to tighten.

"Okay."

All those shifting knots and emotions and words suddenly hitched in an instant…and the single word she'd just said suddenly sunk in.

' 'Okay'… She…she said yes…'

And it was then that Arnold realized something very interesting. He'd never felt so…so relieved about hearing someone say 'yes' to him in his entire life. He'd…he'd asked a girl to a dance…Helga G. Pataki to a dance…and she'd…said yes. And now it suddenly also struck Arnold that even though he'd been hesitant about the decision to voice that question in the first place…once it had gotten out of him, somehow how she would respond had become the most important thing in the world for him.

Finally managing to take in a small breath again he looked up to her, that nervous and shy look still upon he features. "Huh?" was the only thing he could think of to stammer (in just a bit of disbelief, actually). Because, really…she…she really had said…yes? Just like that…

His eyes met a Helga Pataki whose face held a mixture of emotions. Indeed, she just sat there, her eyes wide, part of her brow slightly raised, eyeing him just a little, and biting her lower lip just slightly…a perfect blend of confusion and shyness and hesitancy…and…just faintly, something in her eyes like…hope?

"I…" she began in a quiet voice, legs pulled to her chest, in response to his question, "I said…Okay, Arnold. I…I'd lo—I'd like to be, um…you know…your date tomorrow." She did her best not to blush furiously, though between how fast her heart was beating and how much she could feel the heat staining her cheeks, she knew it was probably in vain. 'I'm…I'm going to be Arnold's date…his legitimate date! No tricks or ploys or ruses required! Arnold asked me out on a date… Arnold…asked me out…' She could barely wrap her mind around the perfect piece of information which that was. 'Oh I am never taking the stairs again—elevators all the way!'

Arnold blinked a few times as he absorbed her words. "O-Oh…okay…um…good!" He swallowed, feeling nerves overtake him. "It's…it's a date, then…" Arnold had never felt himself blush so much. Even his ears practically burned with heat, especially at that last little thing he'd tacked on in his stuttering…accidentally reconfirming that this would indeed technically be two people going somewhere together…romantically. 'I just asked a girl who's in love with me to a dance and she said yes…' He felt his breaths coming shallowly as he tried to even begin processing this highly HIGHLY unprecedented event. 'A girl who would hold me and kiss me and probably dream about me all the time if she could…' He felt his stomach give a sharp twist as another thought suddenly occurred to him. 'What if she thinks that because I asked her that I love her back?' And yet…much to Arnold's continued dismay and distress, this question then brought on the faint echo of another… 'Does wanting to go out with her, even though I know how she really feels about me, mean that I…that I DO?'

"Hey, Arnold?"

His eyes flew open wide and he gave severe flinch as the sound of Helga's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. He looked to her, trying to tone down his surprise a little…especially considering the confused look she was giving him at how spasmodically he'd just responded to her saying his name. "Oh, um…yeah, Helga?" he managed in a voice that didn't crack (he couldn't hope but mentally note, VERY thankfully).

Helga continued to give him that slightly scrutinizing look, but then her smile picked up on one side…almost like she was suddenly 'getting' something. "Uh…first of all, relax already. Crimeny we're going on a date to an elementary school dance tomorrow night, not walking down the aisle together, Football Head, okay?"

Arnold blinked and swallowed and cleared his throat, doing his best to not let her having noticed his nervousness about this date thing AND having called him on it make him, in point of fact, even more of a nervous wreck. "Uh…right, right…Sorry, Helga, I was just… thinking of something, I guess…" He knew the excuse was lame but it was all he had in him.

He glanced up at her shyly only to see her roll her eyes with a playful smirk…and actually, seeing her do this, he couldn't help his gaze lingering upon her. She seemed so…something about her just seemed so happy all of a sudden…like she wasn't trying to be mean to him right now but rather just…teasing him…playfully…like a show of affection rather than one of hatred.

"Whatever," she finished, ending the awkward moment. "Anyway….SECOND, paste for brains…" she continued, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was going to ask if you knew where that chocolate bar to my right came from…" She jerked her thumb in the small candy bar's direction (it was pushed off to the side at the moment, probably the result of Helga and Arnold shifting as they had slept, but she had caught sight of its bright, shiny wrapper once the euphoria of Arnold's date invitation had had a few seconds to ebb just a little). Helga let out a sigh and continued with a half smirk, "Because if I didn't put it there and if YOU didn't put it there then either we're in a magical elevator or I'm still dreaming…and honestly even though I keeping pinching myself to make sure, I'm starting to wonder if I really am or not." She gave a small laugh as she finished her speech…and it couldn't help but make Arnold watch her even more closely now…it had sounded so warm and calm and happy…very different from that usual malicious laugh she used to taunt people.

'Did…did I make her laugh like that? Just by asking her on a date? Did I really make her that happy… just because I don't hate her…and wouldn't mind another date with her?'

"Arnold, you who? Didn't I say to come out of the state of shock about freaking putting on a tie and taking me to a school gym full of streamers and bad dance mixes?"

Arnold blinked and looked to her at the sight of her hand waving in front of his face a few times. His eyes instantly refocused on the reality around him again…and he recalled her question. "Oh um…the chocolate bar…" He lowered his legs and tried to sit a little more casually, really trying to let himself calm down already (though once again her comments about obviously knowing what was making him act like such a spazz weren't helping). "It's from me, actually, Helga… When you fell asleep I started to get a little hungry so I checked my pockets and remembered I had it in there…." He let his eyes make contact with hers, finally feeling the heat starting to drain fully from his face.

He watched as she just raised part of her brow, looking a little confused again. She rested an elbow on one of her knees and leaned her head against the palm of her hand. "Okay…But then why is it randomly on the floor instead of in your stomach, Football Head?" 

Arnold couldn't help but look at her just a little curiously himself for a moment… "Because…I wasn't going to eat it without you, Helga…" And then he couldn't help smiling. "Actually…I kind of thought, since you're probably hungrier than me since you were asking about dinner even before we fell asleep, that you might like the whole thing. So I thought I'd leave it near you until you woke up…" He almost had to look at her in amused disbelief. 'She can't really think someone would just eat the whole thing without her in a situation like this…can she?'

Arnold received an answer to his question via the almost surprised look Helga initially gave in response to his answer…coupled with a surprised tone as she replied, "You…you really wanted to give the whole thing to me…just because you remembered I was hungry?"

Arnold lost the smile and swallowed and glanced down shyly again, something in the way she'd asked her question making his blush start to return. "Oh, well…yeah. I…I mean…like you said, you were hungry and I couldn't just—" His words were cut off and his eyes went wide at a small snapping sound and then at the feeling of something falling in his lap. He looked down in surprised to see half of the chocolate bar there, broken perfectly down the center line.

He looked from this object to Helga (who, he suddenly realized with even MORE of a blush, was sitting right beside him… Indeed, upon looking up he found his eyes not very far from her face, which was currently glancing down…with a small smile).

Helga swallowed just a little nervously and then he heard her say in a quiet, almost nice voice (her eyes still unturned to his though), "Well, that was really sweet of you, Arnold. Thank you…" And then she sighed and looked up at him, raising part of her brow. "But I'm not going to let you starve just because you're the most selfless person on the planet. Now, eat up, Football Head!" And with that she reclined back against the wall of the elevator behind them and took a hearty bite from her half of the chocolate bar.

It took Arnold a second or two to absorb her gesture…but when he did he couldn't help the happy smile that came to his face. "Uh…thanks, Helga…" He picked up his half and took a small bite. "That was, um…" he knew it might be a little much but after all she'd been the one to say it first, "That was really…sweet of you." He leaned back against the wall of the elevator as well to enjoy his snack.

He heard Helga give another one of those small, warm laughs that he couldn't help but find really interesting. "Yeah, well…I just wanted to keep you from getting too ahead of yourself…."

Helga, glancing out of the corner of her eye, saw the predictably confused look she'd been expecting come to her beloved's face. She swallowed and elaborated. "YOU know…the guy usually waits until the night OF the date instead of the night BEFORE it to give the girl candy…" She chuckled to herself once more…especially at the wide eyed, blushing look it suddenly made come to her beloved's face. She did her best not to giggle. 'Man, he looks cute like that!'

Deciding to take some pity upon her beloved and his seeming imminent panic, Helga let out another sigh and placed a hand upon his shoulder, causing his head to instantly snap to looking at her. "Oh would you just relax and finish eating the candy bar, Arnold?" She rolled her eyes, still smirking. "Crimeny, you have no sense of humor!" 'Okay, yeah, I know I'm probably freaking him out a little but he just made me the happiest person on the planet—the defensive and cruel sarcasm is in a bit of short supply right now.'

Helga then, as casually as possible, removed her hand from Arnold and just went back to her half of the chocolate bar…but couldn't help but notice (with just a touch of unease) Arnold just watching her…very, very strangely…

"Hey Arnold, mind telling me as to why you have your eyes on me like a hungry Velociraptor? Am I to expect two more to come jumping out at me from the side, because I didn't even know they were there?"

"H-Huh?" Once again she couldn't help but feel a strike of amusement as she watched the poor boy blink a few times and blush a bit, looking a little sheepish. "O-Oh, sorry Helga. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Exhaling through her nose in a scoff, the blonde girl just shook her head and went back to munching on her snack. "Nah, whatever. You've been acting real weird, Football Head. Is all of this REALLY that much of a surprise to you? I can only imagine what would happen if you'd had popped the question or something."

Even though she was only kidding around, she couldn't help but blush a bit at that statement. As she'd said earlier, they were just going to a grade school dance, not walking down the aisle. Despite how much the latter was the epitome of her love love fantasies.

She allowed herself to glance slightly over at her companion, and found him staring either at her or at the wall with widened eyes and his poor cheeks going redder and redder. _'Wow, he sure does get blushy a lot, doesn't he? Heh heh... He's so cute when he blushes...and it's because of ME! Who knew my beloved could blush so much... And he wants to go to the dance with me. Not with Lila or any other girl, but ME! Don't pinch me, if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up. But I'm not dreaming, Arnold, the Angel of my heart asked me to the dance tomorrow! Oh wait...he KNOWS I love him... Is he going to think I'll jump him when I get the chance? Jeez, I hope he won't be TOO paranoid..._'

Helga shook her head, and looked back at Arnold as he now ate his half of the chocolate bar, staring down at his lap, and still blushing quite a bit.

Maybe this whole experience wasn't so bad after all...

XXXXXX

"What time is it now, Phoebe?" Gerald asked then, stifling a yawn as he walked over to the Asian girl.

Phoebe pulled back the sleeve of her sweater to look at her watch, squinting lightly behind her glasses from where they stood under a street lamp not far from the mall. "Oh goodness, it's 9:12. Have Arnold's grandparents heard anything?"

"Not a thing, babe." Gerald sighed. "Phil's driven around and hasn't seen them, and I had to go inside a nearby house, which was a Block Parent house, and ask to use their phone so I could call our friends, and ask if they'd seen them. And as I thought, no one's seen them since school got out earlier today. Think we'll have to call the Police."

"You may be right, Gerald..." Phoebe looked more worried. "I had better call over at the Pataki house and tell Olga what's going on."

The two of them had spent the past few hours investigating around most of the neighbourhood for their best friends, and finding no clue of them at all. It was as if they had disappeared without a trace. They checked around the mall, asked a caretaker that was just leaving if he'd seen anything, which he hadn't, and then checked around the area, also finding nothing. As expected, their best friends were mysteriously missing. What had happened? Were they kidnapped? Were they playing a prank? No, that was a little too cruel, even for Helga.

Phoebe, growing more and more worried, had some notions wondering if maybe they were trapped _in_ the mall, but that seemed impossible, considering stores were usually thoroughly inspected before closing, and of course they were smart kids and would have left come the announcements that the store and/or mall was closing. While it did seem to be a possible idea, since they would have no way out until morning, not unless they wanted to sound the alarm and seem like burglars, and have no way to contact the outside world.

A beeping noise was heard in Phoebe's purse, and then she lit up with realization upon realizing she had her pager on her! She quickly answered it, seeing that it was her father, wondering where she was.

"Gerald!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I think we might find them after all!" She took out her pager. "It's a Japanese model made in the U.S., and it's a two-way, Helga has one like it since the one from her Dad's store broke. We'll be able to send voice messages back and forth! So if Helga has hers with her, we might just find out where they are! Goodness, I don't know why I didn't think of this before..."

Gerald grinned and threw an arm around Phoebe's shoulders, making her blush. "Ah don't worry about it Pheebs, we were both a little too worried and wonderin' where our friends are at to really think about it. Least now we can find 'em!"

Nodding, Phoebe put her pager to work, and talked into it.

"Hi Helga, it's Phoebe. If you have your pager near you, please send a message back to me if you can. It's..." She checked her watch again. "9:14 PM, I'm outside the mall with Gerald, and we're pretty worried as to where you and Arnold are."

Sending the message, she released a breath and went to go sit on a bench, patting a spot next to her so Gerald could sit with her, which he did.

"Let's hope Helga has it on her..."

XXXX

_Beep beep. Beep beep._

The low but noticeable sound of beeping startled Helga, and Arnold too, as they both jumped slightly at the unexpected noise. She then dug into one of her inner pockets, and felt herself want to jump in joy at the feel of her pager. She had completely forgotten she'd had it on her!

"Helga, what's that?" Arnold asked curiously.

"My pager, doi!" Helga said, too excitedly to be snappy. "We're saved! We're saved!" She checked the message, seeing that it was from Phoebe. "Now we can tell Pheebs where we are and get out of here! We're saved...whoa, it's after nine? Criminy, I thought it'd at least be morning! Whatever, come on, I gotta answer Phoebe back and tell her where we are!"

Arnold blinked in surprise, but found himself grinning too. "That's great, Helga! All right, well let her know and we'll see what we can do."

This was it! They were one step away from getting out, and they actually had a link to the outside world! They were going to be okay. Perfectly okay.

But a feeling struck him then, which was something he hadn't expected.

Disappointment.

Now granted, he DID want them to get out of this and go back home and move on from this accident, naturally, but there was something else. This whole thing had been more than just a stupid accident, it was...an opportunity. A chance to pretty much be able to say things without interruption or escape, which was what they really needed after everything that had happened over the course of the past few weeks. A place to sit and talk, without interruption or escape.

But was it really over?

His train of thought were interrupted when Helga spoke into her pager to get to Phoebe.

"Pheebs, thank goodness you remembered my pager! Okay listen, Arnold is here with me, and we're fine! This is all a big accident, we're pretty hungry and we're stuck. Get the Police or the fire department pronto! We're stuck in the-...criminy! The batteries died on me!"

XXXXXXX

"_'Pheebs, thank goodness you remembered my pager! Okay listen, Arnold is here with me, this is all a big accident, we're pretty hungry and we're stuck. Get the Police or the fier department pronto! We're stuck in the-'_"

"Oh no...it cut off." Phoebe said in worry. "Her pager must have died or she broke it."

"Man, we were THIS close..." Gerald sighed. "Least we know they're okay. But where are they stuck?"

"I don't know, Gerald." Phoebe sighed, and got up to go over to the pay phones. "I'd better call Olga and let her know what's going on, maybe they can call the police."

"Bet they already have." Gerald followed after her.

Phoebe inserted a quarter into the coin slot, dialled Helga's home phone number and waited patiently for someone to answer.

"Baby Sister?" Came Olga's frantic, panicked voice after the second ring.

"Actually Olga, it's Phoebe. I wanted to tell you that I heard from-"

"Helga? Oh good gracious, is she all right? It's after her bedtime and she still has not called here! Please tell me she's all right!"

Phoebe had to hold the phone away from her ear at the loud yelling of the older Pataki sister. "I just paged her from my pager, and she messaged me back, but it was cut off by the end. But she said she was fine, and she's with our classmate, Arnold, they're just stuck somewhere, but it cut off before she could finish."

She gave a sigh. This was going to be a very long night indeed.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Stupid freaking pager!" Helga threw the small device sharply against the far wall of the elevator, scowling in her frustration. "The ONE time I need it to do something for me and OF COURSE it loses its juice." She scoffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Thanks a lot, 'Big Bob's Beepers…' "

"Well…" This word and the patient sigh that proceeded it reminded Helga once again that she was not alone in this mess. "At least Phoebe knows we're okay and that we're trapped somewhere… And at least we know her and Gerald are by the mall." Helga glanced out of the corner of her scowling eyes to see the ever-optimistic Arnold just smiling to himself and looking at her reassuringly. "I'm sure we'll be fine…we just have to wait a little longer."

Helga just let out a breath and at least lost her scowl at his very good point, though she couldn't help rolling her eyes just a bit as she added, "Yeah, a few minutes…a few days…a few YEARS…" She glanced at him, part of her brow raised. "Arnold, come on, let's level for a second—we've already tried to escape, had a few fights, eaten our only food, taken naps, and heck you even freaking came out of left field and asked me to the dance tomorrow…" She let out a sigh and absentmindedly stretched out one of her arms before her, dully observing her extended hand. "We are officially out of random shenanigans to keep ourselves from 'slowly slipping into madness', Football Head…"

Helga was expecting another good-natured assurance of their imminent salvation, or a patient sigh or even a familiar 'Whatever you say, Helga…' from her beloved at her side.

She raised part of her brow though as she instead heard Arnold…chuckling…warmly.

She glanced at him curiously to see that he was indeed happily enjoying a small laugh.

Eventually realizing Helga's gaze was upon him, Arnold cleared his throat and got his laughter a little under control, and couldn't help but just smile at her. "You know…when you're not using it to call me a bunch of names and to trip me in the hall and squirt me with the water fountain…you've got a really great sense of humor, Helga."

He was looking at her with that half lidded gaze of his.

Helga's eyes went wide and large.

Her heart stopped…and then proceeded to beat like crazy!

"Y-you th-think I'm…You think I'm…funny?" was all she managed to get out in a shaky, high-pitched, quiet voice, totally in shock from this sudden compliment from her beloved's mouth. Yes, he'd already assured her he didn't hate her and he'd even asked her to the dance but…could there…could there really be parts of her that he…really…liked? The thought was almost too good to be true…

Arnold's eyes remained half lidded for a second more…

And then they instantly shot open, and he glanced away shyly and the blush was back upon his face. "O-Oh…well…um…yes… I—I mean…" he swallowed, "You just have a really, well…special way of putting things… It's…funny… You're funny…" He finished, and then sunk into embarrassment yet again for about the millionth time, he realized, ever since he'd woken up before to hear her talking about how she felt about him…

He sighed mentally. As for all of this blushing he had been doing, well…it was just that…ever since he'd let himself finally ask her out…and ever since she'd said yes…and ever since she'd been suddenly smiling and laughing and making little jokes about tomorrow (especially that date/candy thing)…well…an interesting thought had suddenly flashed into Arnold's head… And just the concept of this thought was enough to make him blush shyly all on his own (though Helga's little jokes about him being nervous about being her date hadn't exactly been helping keep the blood from rushing to his face twice as hard.)

This thought…and actually it was pretty simple and really probably shouldn't have been distracting him nearly as much as it was…but still…

For the first time he had really tried thinking of Helga as, well…

A girl.

Of course Arnold knew Helga was a 'girl'. It was just that with the way she usually acted and how often she chose to hang out with the boys instead of the girls, he didn't really think about her as a 'girl' girl…

But something about the idea of her being his date…bringing her candy… had made things shift for just a second in his mind… But once the idea had entered he couldn't seem to let it go…

He looked to her just slightly.

She…looked nice in pink. In her pink dress and bow… The color was actually kind of…pretty, when you noticed it…

And then, when this thought had finished she'd made some comment about him staring at her and being a nervous wreck (something about velociraptors…it was all a little hazy) and that had made him even MORE of a nervous wreck…

And then a few seconds had passed and he'd hesitantly turned his eyes and thoughts to her again…

Also…her eyes were blue. Arnold wasn't sure if he'd ever really noticed that before but…they were blue. And it was kind of a nice blue…like—

And then another comment from her…something about 'popping the…the question'… and he'd felt his face burn with heat again.

And then a few more seconds of downtime…and he'd realized, almost smiling to himself actually, that her hair was kind of a nice blonde color too…the whole thing with the blue eyes and blonde hair and the pink was nice actually…It was even kind of pretty when you took it all—

And then out of the corner of his eye he'd caught Helga smiling in a very…unusual way…as she seemed to have a thought or something… And the very idea that she could be thinking about something about him to make her that happy (as well as the fact that he'd just found himself using the words 'Helga' and 'pretty' in the same thought before) instantly brought on even more blushing that our football headed little hero simply couldn't control (though he'd done his best to go on casually eating his half of the chocolate bar, just hoping she wouldn't notice him still acting so nervous).

And now here they were again… He'd been trying to put any more thoughts about Helga as a girl aside for now and just be calm and supportive about the pager thing, especially since it looked like they were still going to be trapped for a little while longer… And all of a sudden without even realizing it he'd told her she was funny… And that look it had made her get: those blue eyes going wide, almost reaching up into the line of her light hair, and the touch of pink that had flowered into her face, almost the same shade as she usually wore.

'I…I just made Helga G. Pataki blush…a lot… Uh…'

Arnold swallowed and did his best to take in this reality…then took a breath and looked to Helga very VERY hesitantly. "Um…Helga?" he said in a quiet voice. "Are you…okay?"

It was like the sound of his voice had broken her from some kind of trance of shock. She instantly blinked and took a sharp breath in, and then shook her head a few times quickly to clear it. She ended by swallowing and resting her head in one of her hands. "Um…yeah, of—of course, Football Head…" The sarcasm with paper thin and feigned at best but Arnold chose to ignore it and let her continue. "Guess, uh…guess being in this elevator is really just starting to get to me a little…heh, heh…" She wrapped her arms around her knees and glanced at him shyly. "So, um…what were we talking about before again?" 'That's right, Helga—just move the conversation along. Crimeny I can't believe I let him see me react like that! For Pete's Sake, why didn't I just announce that every word he says to me makes a billion suns burn brightly in my soul! Ugh, I'm SUCH a basketcase!'

She watched as Arnold blinked and then seemed to consider and then glanced at her again. "Oh, um…we were talking about…other things we could do while we're waiting to be saved…"

"Oh…" Helga was trying to sound casual, "Yeah…other things, heh, heh…" 'Okay, I am going to KILL my imagination for filling my head right now with thoughts of taking our last bit of time alone together here to dramatically kiss Arnold!'

There was silence for a second more.

"Um, well…" Helga glanced up as Arnold continued talking, "We could just…talk…a little…" he swallowed and added quietly and considerately, "If you want to, Helga…"

Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, Arnold had to raise an eyebrow at the fact that part of her brow was currently raised, and her hands were on her hips. "Uh…" she started in a 'no duh!' tone (though it at least didn't have that usual biting sarcasm, which she was actually trying to keep at bay seeing as how well things between them were currently going), "Correct me if I'm wrong, Football Head, but isn't 'talking' what we've been doing this entire time we've been stuck in this elevator?"

Arnold took a second to absorb the question…and then just smiled, and explained himself a little better. "Well, like you said before, Helga—we've 'tried to escape, had a few fights, eaten the last of our food, slept for a little while, and…I even got you to say you'd go to the dance with me tomorrow…" He swallowed and did his best to move on from the date thing before all of that blushing it had caused in the first place could resume. "But, I mean…as long as we're still in here for a little while longer…maybe we could just try talking to each other…you know…as friends…" Arnold knew it was a long shot but…really, Helga hadn't said anything truly insulting or mean to him in quite a few minutes… So maybe he could take this last little bit of uninterrupted alone time they had and just try and get to know her a little better since she suddenly didn't seem all that opposed to keeping him out… 'Maybe it would even help take her mind off of us still being trapped…And maybe it'd make more comfortable with acting more like this tomorrow ni—'

"Okay…"

That single word stopped Arnold's thoughts again, and just like the first time (not too long ago, actually, when she'd used it to confirm that she indeed wouldn't mind being his date to the dance) he suddenly realized, strangely enough, that he'd never felt so relieved to hear a 'yes' from anyone in his entire life.


	5. Up front

**The Elevator **

**Chapter 5: Up front**

**Azure 129: Oh man, the tension's rising and something's about to give-I can feel it! (Lol, it also probably helps that I'm one of the people writing this thing!) Anyway, Arnold and Helga are getting closer and closer to getting rescued which means they're also getting closer and closer to the climax of their time in this elevator so read on for even more romantic shenanigans!**

**NintendoGal55: Hey everyone, and welcome back! :D So now the thick plottens! ...I mean, the plot thickens! As our heroes still remain trapped in the elevator! How are they going to get out? We all know Gertie knows where they are, but will they make it out in time for the dance? Heck, even in time for breakfast? Find out more in this chapter! Hooray!**

**Disclaimer: You know what-yeah, sure, why not...I OWN THIS SHOW! So, before you read this, everyone PayPal me a dollar! And then fifty cents for each reread! (J/k, j/k this is the property of Viacom, Nick, CB etc. but is anyone else curious about what exactly the bigwigs would do if we just went around saying that we did own the show before every fanfic, lol...)/**

**Yeah...we just got off the phone with Craig, who was considering to give us the rights to the characters, since we had to blackmail-I mean, offer to Nickelodeon to take them off their hands! ...Yeah, we don't own the series. Get it through your skulls, doi!**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"As I said, we're not entirely sure where they are. All we know is that they're stuck." Phoebe explained once more to a hysterical Olga into the phone. "Please calm down, Olga. Everything will be fine."

"We...we must call the police! Or the National Guard! And the FBI, the CIA, the Secret Service, everyone! We need help!" Olga cried hysterically on the other line.

Again, Phoebe held the phone away from her ear, looking over at Gerald as helplessly as Phoebe Heyerdahl could look. Gerald just shook his head and patted her on the shoulder sympathetically. With a little smile of gratitude, Phoebe held the phone back to her ear and spoke into it to Olga.

"Listen Olga, it's very late, Gerald and I have to get home now. But I'll tell you what, his father is a police officer, so we'll ask him if he could keep an eye out for Helga and for Arnold. I'm very sure they're safe, and they both know martial arts, so they'll be able to defend themselves if they need to, and I know Arnold would never let anything happen to her. Just please calm down, get some sleep, and we'll resume this search in the morning. There isn't much we can do right now."

Olga let out a breathy sob, trying to calm down. "I-I'll try, Phoebe... I-I just hope we can get Helga home in time for breakfast... P-Please notify the police if you can, Daddy went out hours ago to try to find her and he has yet to return..."

"Mind if I talk to her, babe?" Gerald asked her then.

"Oh, sure, Gerald." Phoebe nodded and handed him the phone.

"Miss Pataki, this is Gerald Johanssen, I'm Phoebe's friend, Arnold's my best friend, and I'm Helga's classmate. Like Phoebe said just now, my dad's an officer of the Hillwood City Police, and he's off duty tonight, but I'll give him a call on my way home and ask him if he and his buddies can keep an eye out for Helga and for Arnold overnight, and then see if they find any leads by tomorrow morning. You get a good night's sleep and my dad will call you if anything comes up. You guys just sit tight over there, we'll handle this."

A loud sniffle came from Olga, and then she blew her nose before answering him. "O-Okay... Th-thank you, Gerald. Please find my baby sister and bring her back to me safe and sound..."

Gerald nodded, despite that she couldn't see it. "No problem, Miss Pataki. We'll do our best. Take care now." He then hung up the phone, and then looked sheepishly at Phoebe. "I'll call my dad and have mom come pick us up, okay?"

"All right, Gerald." Phoebe handed him another quarter. "Hopefully by tomorrow we'll get a clue as to where they could be."

"We'll find 'em, Pheebs, don't worry." Gerald assured her. "At least we know they're all right."

Phoebe nodded, holding Gerald's hand tightly as she patiently waited for him to finish talking to his mother on the phone, sometimes glancing up at the dark sky to the moon hanging overhead.

_Don't worry Helga, wherever you guys are, we'll get you home soon..._

XXXXX

There had been an awkward silence for the past couple of minutes before the two trapped kids began to talk a bit. Making small talk, for that matter. As strange as it felt, it was actually not so bad. After all, they'd done it before on occasion. Memorably, back on Thanksgiving. Aside from the fact that it had been a pretty lousy Thanksgiving at first, it wasn't until they ran into each other that it had started to actually look up. They'd wandered around the pier and the city for a while, and it was just one of those strange times when they were more like friends than they were...well, bully and victim.

In fact, it was even brought up in their conversation. While at first it was mere small talk, trying to get things going, but now, it was slowly becoming easier to just talk about things together.

"You know, Helga...this kind of reminds me of that time we were spending some of Thanksgiving together." While Arnold's gaze was fixated on the ceiling, he glanced back at Helga to see her looking fairly surprised before she regained her usual composure.

"Can't believe you actually remember that." Helga remarked. "That was some Thanksgiving."

He gave a nod, a little smile coming to his features. "I remember it pretty well, and I guess I never did get to tell you...to be honest, it was the best Thanksgiving I'd ever had. I don't just mean 'normal', since we did have a normal Thanksgiving after I got home. It was great though, and we even threw in fireworks."

"I guess only your crazy ol' Grandma could think of that."

"Yep." Arnold gave a little laugh. "But as great as it was, even if it hadn't turned out that way, the real point of it was to be thankful with what you had, isn't it? No matter what it was."

"Well doi, that's what Mr. Simmons taught us." Helga said. "I mean, you remember his family and friends, not the best people around."

"I remember, and sometimes...well, like you said what Mr. Simmons taught us, the fact we love them and want to be with them is what really matters. So, it was a really good Thanksgiving, it really was. But what I remember most about it is..." He blushed a bit as he said this, looking away from her. "Well, when we were walking around together and actually getting along, like we were friends. I know it might sound weird of me to say, but it's true. It was great that we could spend time together and kind of bond."

Helga's eyebrow shot up to her hairline as he said this, a soft blush marring her cheeks. Did he even realize just what he was doing to her? Did he know how much she wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him with all she had? To shower the boy with all the love and affection he deserved that she could muster? To show how much it meant to her to hear him say such a thing?

First asking her to the dance, and now this? Openly admitting he'd enjoyed them spending time together back on Thanksgiving? Granted, aside from the lousiness he was feeling about it all, he didn't once say anything about how he disliked having her around. He seemed to be comfortable, enjoying himself even, being around her. That of course, she realized, was because she wasn't treating him like dirt. She was being herself, and because of that, he felt comfortable around her and didn't fear she'd say or do something to bully him. Heck, even with her cynicism toward the holiday, she wasn't acting like her usual self toward him. It had been easy for some reason. Arguably, it was mostly because she didn't have much strength do so, she was too fed up about everything to care. She also had a distraction, the lousiness of the holiday.

But despite that, they really had bonded that day, hadn't they? Not just that, but had formulated a connection even she herself couldn't explain. They were having lousy Holidays, that was all she could use to explain it with.

"You really think that, Arnoldo?" Helga finally said, facing away from him again. "I mean sure we didn't exactly argue at the time, but seriously?"

"Well, yeah, Helga." Arnold replied, looking at her at the corner of his eye. "I really do like to spend time with you... I-I mean, you know, when we put our differences aside and everything." A blush came to his face. "I know that being yourself doesn't always come easy to you because you want to be on your guard and not take lip from anyone, but... well, you don't have to be afraid to be yourself with me, Helga. I'm not going to laugh at you or make you feel inadequate. Besides, you're a really interesting person, and you have a great sense of humour and such a...well, passion for things. Things you like, things you don't like, things you feel strongly about."

Again, her eyebrow shot to her hairline. Did he really think that about her? Well, it was nothing new, of course. Anytime he pointed something out about her, deny it as she would, he was always right on the money. It's like he didn't know her, and yet, in a lot of ways, he did. Helga sat stunned, unsure of how to respond to that. Normally she'd deny it and throw in some sarcastic remarks, but right now, she felt it to be pointless. The cat was out of the bag, and the past few minutes were proving to be a little less about keeping her guard up in front of him.

Taking her silence the wrong way, Arnold immediately rubbed the back of his neck nervously, looking away from her. "I mean...what I'm trying to say Helga, is that I think you're a great person, and it's really good that you can stand up to people and not take lip from them. You're assertive and aggressive about what you feel, liking it or not, and you make sure never to let people forget about it. To be honest, sometimes I...well, wish I had that kind of assertiveness. I'll admit that being forceful isn't what I tend to do, but what I mean is that being assertive enough to get a point across, you know? Frankly all I can do is sound ridiculous when I try. Remember Eugene's birthday, how every time I tried to throw him one and it ended up...well, failing?" He looked relieved as she looked at him and nodded, amused. "Well, I actually got a little aggressive and forceful toward him when I said I was determined to throw him the best birthday ever. And to be honest, looking back, I looked pretty silly. I just can't do it like you can. When you do it, you're intimidating and strong. When I try, I just stun people and look stupid."

Arnold winced a moment, expecting a lash out, or even just a slap on the arm. But it never came. Instead, he heard her starting to laugh a little. Looking back at her, she was stifling her laughter by covering her mouth with her hand. It was obvious she was trying not to burst out laughing. He blinked, unsure of what to make of her reaction. Was she laughing at him? At what he said? What was so funny?

Before he could ponder it further, she answered his question for him.

"Arnold...Arnold...you are one weirdo." Helga managed, taking a few breaths to calm herself. "I can see what you're saying, but frankly, you're off by a few notches. For starters, you're a lot more intimidating that you think! Hello? Are you blind? Okay, let me lay it out for you. You've got me, the angry school bully girl. Everyone's expecting me to get angry, they're all on guard and nervous about it, just _waiting_ for it to happen. And when it does, WHAM!" She slapped her fist into her palm. "They react accordingly, whether or not they're used to it. And now, we have you. The nice guy, the sweetie, the neighbourhood peacemaker. You are the last person ANYONE would ever expect to get angry and aggressive. No one would see it coming. You're not a ticking time bomb. You're that sweet little song bird from a typical Disney movie. When YOU get angry or aggressive, no one sees it coming! You see what I'm saying? With me, they see it coming. Sure they still get intimidated and scared, but they still know to expect it from me! But you? No way! It's even more effective because no one expects it from the nice guy! Come on, remember when you were walking around in a karate gi and you fought off anyone who came near you? Come on, you scared _me_. Me! And I don't scare easily! You strike fear into people's hearts very unexpectedly. They say that the nicest people can also be the scariest. That's pretty much because _no one sees it coming_. So think about it, Arnoldo. Again, you have me, the ticking time bomb, and you, the Dinsey song bird. Who do you think is going to be scared of the most when one of us is angry? The one they expect it from? Or the one they don't expect it from? You're that jump-inducing, startling moment in a horror movie no one expects; unexpected and very effective, no one sees it coming. I'm the monster or serial killer in the movie; scary and chilling all the while, but expected."

Arnold blinked, taking in what she was saying. Not only was she proving a pretty valid point, now that he thought about it, but she was actually having fun with it. Freely talking about her point of view of the matter, without being insulting or demeaning, but actually talking about it like anyone would with a pal. It hit him then, they were interacting, talking to each other like they were friends. Actually having something to think about beyond their dilemma. And intellectually, no less. There was nothing forced or deceitful about Helga then. She was pretty much being as close to "being herself" as she could be.

He exhaled, watching her for a moment as she looked back at him expectantly, obviously waiting for him to say something about it.

Shifting a bit from where he sat, he cleared his throat to busy himself a moment as he turned toward her. "Yeah...I guess that makes sense, Helga. I never thought of it that way before."

"Didn't think so." Helga knocked on his head lightly with her fist. "Sometimes it's up to someone else to lay it on ya, let it sink into your little football head." Her hand lingered there a moment, her fingers uncurling and brushing against his hair.

"Whatever you say, Helga."

"Darn right. Whatever I say, and don't you forget it."

Their eyes met, blue meeting green. Arnold felt a strange shiver as her hand touched his hair, combing her fingers through the golden strands. He felt his breathing gradually slowing, his gaze fixated on the girl before him. A binding force seemed to be pulling him in, keeping him there. He couldn't speak, there was nothing coming out of his mouth. His legs were turning to jelly, he couldn't move. What was going on? Everything seemed to be raining down in realization. Helga loved him, a lot more than he could have ever imagined. They were going to the dance tomorrow night, together. They were trapped in an elevator, alone, with no kind of interruption or escape available.

Now his heart was pounding a million miles a minute, his cheeks were getting hot, and shivers were running up and down his pine, his insides warming up and freezing at the same time. What was happening...why was he feeling this way? How was she having an effect on him that he couldn't even come close to formulating an explanation for? Was it because of the situation at hand? Every thing else in between?

Her hand remained where it was, gently combing her fingers through his hair, and neither of them moved nor said a word. They just looked at each other, neither of them knowing how long it had been. A minute? Five minutes? ...An hour? Time itself seemed to have no effect on either of them.

Helga felt it too, and inwardly a part of her was screaming for her to snap out of it and get away, but for once, she ignored it. They were alone, no one to see or even hear them, trapped with no escape, and he didn't seem opposed to what she was doing. He only stared back at her in amazement, curiosity, and something else she couldn't comprehend. It took her a moment to realize they were getting a little closer to one another.

A little closer.

Arnold leaned a bit more toward her.

Helga leaned a bit more toward him.

He leaned closer.

She leaned closer.

Before either of them could think, realize what they were doing, stop themselves, or even blink...

Their lips slowly met.

Their lips touched like that, simply and faintly for a moment or two more…and then delicately released…

Blue still locked into green, just like before…

Neither one of them blinked.

"I love you…" It was out of Helga's mouth in a whisper before she could reconsider, her face still a palette of shock and her eyes still wide…her head barely able to process what had just happened.

"…I know…" came Arnold's barely whispered reply, and he was likewise still looking surprised and just a little terrified.

'He…knows…?'

Helga wasn't sure what to make of that reply…of that confirmation of the fact that he knew and by extension accepted that she loved him…and what it meant for what had just happened…

But on a side note…

Arnold had just kissed her.

She took in a very deep breath. 'Oh boy…' She awaited whatever he'd say next.

She was going to have to wait at least a few more seconds though as Arnold was still processing the fact that his heart was pounding like crazy, his insides were twisting and twirling in warmth, and his lips had an almost tingling, cool sensation upon them from having touched Helga's moist ones like that just now (a fact which was just plain making his head spin as he took it in). 'We…I…we kissed and I… Why do I feel like this…like I…I feel like if she ever touched me again it would make me just…explode or something! But…also…it would feel…I mean…'

He took a second to let how it would feel wash over him a little…and then felt himself blush brightly when it did!

The sight of Arnold blushing like that, meanwhile, made Helga blush brightly now as well…And in turn the sight of her doing that only made Arnold's heart pound all the more.

'If she touched me, I…' he hesitated for just a second in the thought…until he felt it progress in a strange way. 'Or if I…if I touched…'

Another moment of silence.

Then at the sight of her beloved suddenly, slowly, hesitantly lifting up one of his hands, Helga felt everything in her body lock up in a single instant. She didn't blink, didn't breathe, didn't move a single muscle…and slowly but surely (despite how certain she was that it just COULDN'T be happening) Arnold's hand reached up before her, paused once more for just a second, and then finally it shifted to the side just a little…and the next thing she knew her insides were on fire at the feeling of one of his fingers suddenly touching one of her pigtails…and gently almost entwining a thick piece or two of hair around it.

Meanwhile, feeling Helga's hair twist once around his finger, Arnold suddenly felt his breath catch in his throat and instantly pulled his arm back, almost like it had burned to touch her or something…which wasn't far from the truth…

He swallowed, and then had to admit to himself that, well…he hadn't been sure if it was going to work but…it had. The feeling of touching Helga had made him practically burn with heat inside just like the feeling of her touching him did…only, well…it was stronger if that was possible.

And now she was still just looking at him with those wide blue eyes…after he'd just touched her soft blond hair…and her face was about a million times brighter pink than that color she always wore. And all he could think was…if he kissed her again…feeling what he was sure he felt now…would it burn too?

A strong compulsion instantly came over him to find out…

And so Arnold shifted just a little closer to the girl before him, no longer trying to reason his way out of this whole thing. He was feeling something and he just…just wanted to see what it might…how it might…

He shut himself up and let himself finish moving just a little closer…

Helga instantly gave a small shift back as his advance processed with her, looking petrified… 'What is he…What the heck is he doing?'

The boy before her only shifted a little closer though, now upon his hands and knees, crawling toward her.

She fell backward a little only to feel, with a cool thud, her back hit the wall of the elevator behind her. She just plastered herself against it, still not blinking, still paralyzed in fear and uncertainty…

Arnold moved the last few inches toward her, then sat up on his knees…and then shifted his head forward, moving his lips within a lips distance of hers. "Helga…" he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. He swallowed in absolute fear.

She didn't say anything back to him but the sudden addition of a glint of curiosity in her terrified gaze told him she had heard his address. He took a deep (slightly shaky) breath and continued. "I'm going to…" he began in explanation, "I'm going to try something, so that I can see something…if it's okay with you."

She still didn't say anything but she hadn't said no. And so…

Arnold picked up his arms and then rested them gently, warmly on Helga's shoulders, angled his head just slightly to the side, took in a deep breath, closed his eyes…and let himself move forward and kiss Helga again.

It…burned…like…crazy!

And he just let out a sigh through his nose as he let it go on…because it wasn't so bad, that burning feeling…in fact it was…well…

Well, he'd sort that out later. The bottom line was that (as he'd thought to himself before with that bright blush when all of those new feelings about being close to her had fully, actively washed over him for the first time) it was something GOOD…

XXXXXXXX

Helga was…at the moment…feeling a little, uh…

Well, there were these tremors going through her entire body, her shoulders underneath a certain person's hands were currently searing, and there was just plain something utterly paralyzing about how it felt to have Arnold's soft, ideal, one of a kind lips crushing against and melting into and shifting upon her own. Her heart beat like mad! Her thoughts weren't doing so well either—they were clouded and mixed, and nothing inside of her could move and nothing outside of her could move and yet she felt something that begged a struggle within herself…

But still, he was kissing her…maybe she should just enjoy it… Yeah, after all…she'd had to go through MONTHS of him faking like nothing had ever happened between them (except of course for that stupid April Fool's tango) so why not just enjoy him suddenly acting again lik—

And then she recalled the exact nature of that struggle she knew should be there and she finally let her reason break through her shock and love and emotion enough to do something about it…

*Smack!*

"OW!

And now both children were still upon the floor, still panting heavily, still blushing like crazy…but finally with several feet of distance between them… (oh and did we mention that Arnold had a pretty obvious red hue to it).

Helga, eyes wide and chest heaving, just took the next few seconds to do her best to find her way back to the land of coherent thought…and then suddenly she shook her head as though to clear it and instantly a dark scowl came to her eyes. "Who the HECK do you think you ARE, you…you….!" She glared right at Arnold, seething!

"Huh?" was all Arnold could come up with in his blinking, blushing confusion, continuing to rub the side of his face still.

"Who…how…What do you think you're…Grr!" She stumbled over her words, her indignation was so great (and it wasn't helping to frustrate her any less that despite her anger she was still blushing like crazy). "WHO said you could TOUCH me? WHO, huh?" she finally decided upon.

Arnold just continued to look at her in confusion, now sitting up a bit more and still fixated upon her angry, scowling form… (And…kind of sort of, well…wanting that moment she'd just interrupted back, let's say…) "Uh…?"

Helga rolled her eyes and growled once again at his continued confusion, and did her best to keep her anger going as fiercely as possible so that she wouldn't collapse like a total emotional wreck in front of him or something (which she was seriously on the edge of doing at this point, by the way). "HEL-LO!" She threw her arms up in the air. "What gives you the right to just up and do what you just did to me, Football Head? Tell me that!" She lowered her fists to her sides. "What, just because you decided NOW—NOW after months of just sweeping things under the rug—that YOU just get to up and kiss me because the 'poor, little, confused Football Head' needs to 'see something'?" She was breathing heavily as she finally concluded, "Just like with that stupid April Fools dance! You got to pretend like everything was just how it's always been for a week or two and then on a WHIM that night decided to just shift everything around ENTIRELY for your own stupid, selfish reasons!"

And now she stood, and she was still fuming of course… She approached Arnold as she continued speaking, and his reaction was to fall back a little on his elbows and proceed to back up from her in fear and confusion at wherever she was going with this. "Well guess what! Helga G. Pataki is NOT just going to sit here patiently 'on hold' waiting for the next time you'll 'do me the honor' of throwing me a bone just to 'see something'. I'm in love but I still have a spine you little jerk! And I don't let anybody use me, including you! You got that!"

And now Arnold's back was the one to hit a wall this time, causing him to sit up a little as he did so, still just watching her with wide eyes from the floor.

Helga just stood before him, towering over him…but though she was maintaining a scowl Arnold almost felt a sadness pierce through him as it couldn't help but also look like she was trying not to…not to cry or something. 'I…I really mean that much to her…?'

Helga interrupted his thought by scoffing and rolling her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and continuing her rant. "Enough's enough, lover boy. I'm taking charge of this little situation we've got going on between us before you and your stupid inability to just GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR FEELINGS ALREADY just plain kills me!"

And then suddenly (and to Arnold's continued heart pounding anxiety), she suddenly bent down, reached forward, grabbed him by the collar and stood him up, plastering his back against the wall. Before he could speak, or blink or even really breathe though…

She looked him right in the eye.

And then spoke.

"I love you, Arnold. You don't hate me because you could never hate anybody…but you don't love me back. You're just confused but I hope laying it out like that for you makes it all pretty clear. So…goodbye." And then she closed her eyes and swallowed and a genuine look of absolute sadness washed over her…before she summed up her courage to do the last thing she had to do… And then she went forward and planted a passionate kiss right upon his lips! (The last one she was ever planning to give to him ever, at this point, so she figured she might as well make it good.)

Meanwhile, good was, uh…well, it was a positive word and this was a positive experience so it could probably be used to acceptably describe how it was feeling for Arnold to have her do this to him…

But at the same time the word 'good' didn't really capture the atmosphere of the sudden electricity pumping through his body, the feeling like his knees were going to completely give out from under him at any second, or of course how crazily, insanely…undeniably pleasurable her mouth kissing him felt. Every sense in his body was at maximum and spiraling out of control, and…where the heck was he again? Her hands then suddenly moved up a bit and pulled through his hair for a moment and he…really it had just plain made him shiver…and he wished and hoped she'd do it again before—

The sound of lips smacking and the feeling of his lips having the cool, tingling, just-freshly-separated-from-another-person'-mouth sensation made a little disappointment come over him as he realized that the hair thing wouldn't be happening again… And then his eyes went wide as this desire of his fully processed with him now that the kiss was no longer consuming ever fiber of his being. 'I like this…I love this, I…I…I…'

Helga, meanwhile, was currently standing before him and just taking a deep breath or two (and blushing like crazy) to regain herself after all of that. And then before Arnold could speak and maybe talk her out of the decision she'd just made because she was such a sucker for him and his denseness and his reasoning, she stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest and then announced very simply and finally, "And now we're not going to talk about this 'I love you' thing anymore ever. I won't bring it up and even if YOU do I just won't respond. That's the new plan—NOT just waiting for you to drop the bomb as it's convenient for you. Hmph!"

And then she turned on her heel, walked across to the opposite end of the elevator, and turned back around and sat herself upon the floor, looking in any direction but at the boy across from her.

A second or two of silence passed and Helga was seriously considering another nap after all of that…and how much it had taken out of her both physically…and emotionally…

"You're…wrong…"

She closed her eyes tight and took in a sharp breath and did her best not to let her anger take over again. 'Just ignore him…he'll shut up in a little while if you just ignore…'

"I don't…not…love you…"

Helga's eyes shot over to Arnold on instinct just as everything locked up and at the same time came undone in one perfect instant inside of her. She didn't move now, she didn't want to take any chances…And besides she had no idea how to respond to that…she wasn't even really sure what it meant anyway…

He was just sitting there, blushing furiously, and looking more distressed than she'd ever seen him look as he just sat there hugging his knees to his chest, his eyes cast downward and definitely not at her as his arms gripped each other.

Silence continued for several seconds.

Then…

"You have five seconds to explain to me what the heck that means before I go right back to my new plan of ignoring you, you little shrimp." Her voice was simple and level but firm. She meant business. "NOW!"

Arnold took in a sharp breath at the sound of that command, his eyes suddenly coming to hers again. He swallowed hard and did his best to speak honestly and without fear. "I…feel…funny when I'm…around you…A-and when we t-touch, it…it almost kind of b-b-burns a little and I…" He was consumed by blushing. "And I…want to…want to k-kiss you a-again…"He swallowed very hard and did his best to maintain enough courage for his conclusion, knowing full well she deserved a straight answer after all the unfair stuff he really had been putting her through. "So…I…" he let out a breath, "I think that means that I 'don't not love you…'"

Helga's jaw simply dropped.

Arnold waited…

And then his nerves got the better of him. "Helga?" he had to ask in a high pitched, anxious voice…on the edge of his seat for what she'd do or say next.

He was surprised to say the least when instead of saying anything she simply, slowly began to shift toward him…and then to crawl toward him.

He stiffened up and waited for whatever would happen…

Helga stopped within about a foot of him and sat upon her knees before him. She eyed him a little strangely…Then she slowly reached forward and brushed her hand against the back of his cheek. The sudden shock of her action (and of course the fact that it was her touch upon him) made heat quickly rush to his face and his breath noticeably catch in his throat.

At the feeling of Arnold's skin heating up instantly under the mere touch of her hand and hearing that strange way it made his breath stop, Helga pulled back her arm in a flash and felt her heart practically cease in shock. 'He…he's not kidding… He's…crimeny he's got feelings for me, hasn't he?' ''

Helga took in a very deep breath, and then let out a very deep breath.

She then shifted herself so that she was now sitting beside Arnold with her back against the same wall his back was against. He wasn't looking at her…hadn't even tried to ever since that touch of her hand to his face.

The kids just sat in silence for a few seconds, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Sorry if I hurt you when I hit you, Arnold…" Helga eventually said quietly.

"Sorry if I made you, um…uncomfortable by, um…kissing you like that…" Arnold replied back, even more quietly.

Helga finally cracked a smile and let out a chuckle for the first time in quite a few minutes. She then gave Arnold a small punch in the shoulder, all of which surprised him to say the least. "Hey, at least it proved my point…" she just shrugged, "Aggressive you is definitely a powerhouse of unexpectedness."

And now Arnold finally had to crack a smile too. (oh and did we mention that Arnold had a pretty obvious red handprint upon one of his cheeks).

"Okay, okay, all joking aside... Forget about it, I can't exactly hold a grudge against you for _that_, can I?"

"Well, um...in a way it was kind of out of-"

"Cool your jets, I get it." She held up a hand to silence the boy before her. "What we need to do is know where we're going with this.

"...Huh? What do you mean?" He asked, genuinely confused.

Again Helga knocked his head lightly with her fist. "Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Think Football Head, think! I'm talking about _this_! You obviously have feelings for me, and well, how I feel goes without saying. So here's what we're gonna do. It's late now, we're both tired and pretty drained from everything. We'll sleep on it, and see where the heck we're going with this tomorrow. We're still going to that dance, doi, but for now, let's sleep on it, they'll probably find us tomorrow morning when the place opens up, anyway. Then we'll go this dance like you earlier requested that we do so. Then maybe your little football head will process exactly what's going on and piece it all together, and know where to go from there. Is that clear?"

Gulping lightly, Arnold nodded. "O-Okay... I think that's a good idea, Helga."

"Good boy." Her hand dropped to her side. "...You know, um, thanks, Arnold."

"Um...you're welcome, but, what for?"

"Doi, for being straight with me for once. Jeez, it's about darn time!"

"Oh! Oh, yeah, sorry. I guess I...I...well, I was pretty confused about how I felt and I didn't want to give a clear answer until I knew for sure about how I felt. And you know, I'm sorry I was...always sending mixed signals, especially now. So thank you too, for you know, I guess motivating me to just come out with it and say something." The blonde boy looked away then, blushing a bit more, his hand falling to the floor, unwittingly landing on top of hers. "I know this might sound crazy, but...well, I'm glad we got stuck in this elevator."

"Huh? You're..._glad_?" Helga's jaw dropped, and not just over what he'd said, but also his hand coming to land on hers. And the fact he hadn't moved it away. "You're glad we're stuck in this elevator with no place to run or hide to, possibly stuck for days, with no food, no water, and no...well, anything sufficient that we need! We could die in here and you're glad we-"

"That's not it." Arnold said patiently. "I mean, if it were up to us, we'd have avoided being alone with each other until high school. But, well, I guess somehow this elevator was used to give us a push, a push to...talk about things between us, and have a place to do it uninterrupted and with no escape. I know it's crazy, and being trapped like this really is no picnic, but...well, in a way, it helped."

Needless to say, Helga was, once again, stunned. Not that him looking at the bright side of any situation was anything new, but the fact that he took this as something of a helping blessing instead of a nightmare of being forced to own up to every thing he was feeling inside. Heck, even every little thing SHE herself was feeling inside. It was as if they were on the Titanic! Something beautiful and wondrous, but coming with a price, the price of disaster.

She gulped silently, hoping that THIS wouldn't be met with disaster.

Then again, they were only trapped between the first and second floor, odds are, if the wires of the elevator snapped, they wouldn't have very far to go down, and would cause very little to no damage at all, thankfully.

And it wasn't 1912 with no proper, contemporary technology, either.

"So you're saying, this stupid disaster within a disaster is a blessing in disguise? Wow...you sure took looking on the bright side to a new level there, Football Head."

Arnold looked sheepish and looked away, rubbing his cheek with his other hand.

"But I guess I can't blame you for being you, and thinking about the big picture, I guess." Helga shrugged. "One of the things I love about you, so you-...oh, shut up."

Glancing at her at the corner of his eye, he cracked a smile once more. "Well Helga, that's one of the things I really like about you too."

"Huh? Um, yeah, Arnold...care to elaborate? You do seem to forget that I'm not a mind-reader. My eyes don't suddenly become magic mind-reading optics, so you might want to put those thoughts of yours into words."

"You being you. I mean...you know, really you. When you're being yourself. When you're just being you, well, it's great to see you being yourself, whatever it may be. Like I said before, the fact that you can be aggressive, yet in an assertive manner, and still be soft and warm at the same time. Most people are just one or the other, it's not often you find someone who's..." He paused, thinking of the right words. "Able to stand up for herself, and yet still have a big heart. And to know what you want. You know, when you stood up even to me like that earlier...okay, I won't lie, I was scared...but, it just proves that you know what you want and you're willing to stand up to anyone, even me, to get it. Even if it means to have to do something you know you won't like so much. I know it could've been hard to just push everything away. You were showing your true colours there in standing up to my stupid denseness like that. And I..." His gaze lowered. "I'm still sorry about that, I don't know what came over me."

"I forgave you for that, don't worry about it. Yeesh, you get a little too guilty for your own good, ya know. Come on, I'm not that heartless."

"I know, but... It still, like you said, made me come off as just throwing you a bone for my own stupid, selfish reasons. You were right, I was being an idiot. Like on April Fool's Day."

"Okay, okay, stop. Just stop. You like being stood up to? Fine, I'll do it again."

Before he could answer, she stood up, and jabbed her finger into his nose. Not hard, just applying enough pressure.

"Number one, I was a little angry and I wanted to make things perfectly clear with you, Arnoldo. So I knew I had to stand up to you because hey, I wasn't about to be pushed around or used as a throw pillow. And maybe I was a little too harsh, but-"

"No, you had all the right to be angry at-"

"Let me finish. What I meant was, I jumped to the conclusion of the situation a little too...literally, you'd say. Maybe you weren't being straight with me, but I was jumping the gun a bit too fast, too. Either way, it was a good thing I did that, though. You needed it, and heck, even I needed it! Number two, I meant what I said, and I know YOU did too, so you don't need to apologize for that. Number three, you are belittling yourself because of a mistake you made. Come on, you always say to everyone it's normal to make mistakes, and that all you can do is learn from them. You made a mistake, even without bad intentions, plain and simple. I'm not gonna go on and on and on about it and make you feel stupid, jeez. You made a mistake, I called you out on it, you apologized, and even learned from it too, so there you go, it's over. Done. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! So quit moping about it, I forgive you, and we've got it all out on the table, just as I wanted and just as you needed. I was angry, yes, and you were guilty of something, yes, but it's not a freaking life sentence. So buck up and stop feeling sorry for yourself! Even someone like the President makes mistakes! You've made mistakes, and there hasn't been one mistake that I didn't see you learn from and try to work out for the better, even if not as you planned. Come on Arnold, not a lot of people would even come CLOSE to admitting they made a mistake! And that's my next point. You owned up to your mistake, apologized for it and learned from it, like I said. And doi, I love you for it. So again, quit moping and move on. It's over. You get it now? You gonna stop moping?"

Blinking as he let her words sink in, staring at her finger cross-eyed for a moment, and then looking up at her, he gave a nod.

"You needed a wake-up call, you need a push, so, that mistake served its purpose for you." She sat back down next to him.

"...Like you said, you're in love, but you have a spine. And, well, to be honest Helga, that's pretty admirable. Not a lot of people would stand up to someone they love like that." More blush. "I mean... People sometimes think that standing up to them makes themselves look bad somehow."

"Well doi, being in love is complicated! But whatever, you've made your point, I made my point, we're done here. We cool?"

"Of course, Helga."

They looked at each other a moment, and gave a smile, before looking away.

"So...guess this means we should go to sleep now, huh? It's late, who-knows-what time now. Morning should come faster if we go to sleep." Helga stretched her arms and moved to crawl away to give him space to nap, but Arnold took hold of her hand.

"Wait, Helga...before we go to sleep again, I just wanted you to know one thing."

"...What? What do you mean? What else could there possibly be for me to know by now?"

"Well," Arnold looked down again, blushing considerably. "What I said just now, about how I...well, don't not love you, it's not just that, I really...really really like you, a lot. ...A lot more than as a friend...but not just that either." He stood up then, and paced the elevator, slowly, concentrating. "Ever since you...well, confessed you loved me, on the rooftop of the FTi building, I've felt...different, around you. I know we established it was in the 'heat of the moment', but I know that wasn't the case. That's...well, love bordering on obsession. It's not that I didn't believe you, I did, to be honest. I knew you were telling the truth. I didn't for a split second, considering you always acted as if you hated me. But that's not what I mean, either. What I mean is, it was quite a big step for me to take. To go from just a simple crush to...well, _love_. Love really is something I try not to throw out lightly, and I'm not at all saying you do, no way. What I mean is, I wanted to be sure how I clearly felt about you, whether I...felt the same way or not, before I told you. Not just that, it all hit me like a ton of bricks, I couldn't think or process it at the time. I guess you noticed I didn't reject you, right?"

"Well yeah, you could've said 'I don't like you', or whatever." It was a miracle she could talk after what he was saying. It was...something.

"Right, well, I couldn't do that because that wasn't the truth." Arnold paced around again in a circle, his hands behind his back. "I also couldn't just say I...felt the same way, I didn't know if I did, out of nowhere without thinking about it first, that wouldn't have been like me. Everything about it shocked me, threw me for a loop, and so I wanted to give you time to regain yourself and for me to think about it. I'm just...sorry I wasn't straight with you about it, again. But now you know I have feelings for you now."

Helga said nothing, instead, she stood up, and walked over to where he was now standing, having stopped pacing just moments ago. They just stood there, looking at one another, in utter silence. Her head tilted slightly downward, his head titled slightly upward.

How long had it been? Was she letting his words sink in? Was she going to...dare he think it, do something rash?

"Love bordering on obsession, huh? Well you're half-right. It's not bordering, Football Head. It IS an obsession. I'm a basket case, okay? And if we're gonna be together like this, you'll have to get used to it."

A thought struck him then. "Wait, Helga...you said you wrote poems, right?"

"Well doi, I did. Why do you-"

"And shrines...? What did you mean by that?"

"Okay okay, one thing at a time here, hair boy!" Helga cut him off, turning bright red. "L-Let's take it slow...c-can't get every single thing out on the table in one night, heh heh...yeah..."

Helga stepped back, nervously tugging at her collar, and glanced up at Arnold hesitantly…and then to her surprise couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of guilt come over her at the slight look of disappointment that suddenly befell his face at her refusal to elaborate.

"Oh…" Arnold said with more than a bit of dejection in his tone. "Of course… I mean…" He looked to her sincerely. "I don't want to make you do anything you're not ready to do Helga. If you don't want to talk about it all now then we don't have to." He smiled at her. "We can just go to sleep for now and then maybe sometime after we get out of here we can talk about it if you want to…" He swallowed as he sat back down upon the floor, and looked away shyly as he added, "You know just like we're giving it a little time before we talk about my, um…feelings…and, uh…us…"

Helga blinked…and then just sat down on the floor in front of him, a smile on her face. "Uh, thanks, Arnold…I mean…" She rolled her eyes and half grinned at him. "That's pretty decent of you for a football head." She let out a small chuckle that was actually closer to a giggle, Arnold couldn't help but notice with interest.

After absorbing that nice laugh he blinked once or twice and then finally just smiled at her, trying not to blush or anything. "You're welcome, Helga." And then, randomly enough, now that things really did seem to be winding down and the tension did seem to be easing up since he had finally just admitted to the girl in front of him that he was starting to have feelings for her, Arnold found himself yawning and then blinking a few times in sleepiness. After all it had been a pretty full day to say the least.

His eyes went wide though at the sudden presence of Helga by his side, smiling at him just a little more now that she had shifted over toward him like that. "Wow, you really are sleepy, aren't you, Arnold?" He couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat or two at how kind and genuine her voice sounded right now in regards to him.

Arnold swallowed and did his best to reply as casually as possible. "Oh, um…yeah…I guess so…" He felt another yawn almost coming on but suppressed it…because something about that way she was looking at him right now and that near giggle she'd just given all because he seemed about to nod off was just too much to take in at the moment…Like she thought it was cute that he was tired or something… And the idea of her thinking he was cute in any way sent this weird shiver through him that he just couldn't really deal with while still involved in their current elevator predicament. 'But still…' he couldn't help adding as an afterthought, 'it's also kind of a…kind of a nice feeli—'

The sound of Helga letting a breath…and then swallowing and speaking up broke Arnold from his interesting thoughts. "Hey…Arnold?"

He blinked once and then glanced at her. "Yes, Helga?"

She was looking down shyly, nervously, clasping her hands together, and he became even more intrigued. "Um…could I…" she began, "Well I mean, since it's a little cold in here and since we, uh… 'made up' a little, and, um…since this place is so small we'd probably end up that way anyway…" 'Come on, Helga—he basically just admitted he's got a crush on you. Just ASK already!' She swallowed and finally went for it. "Could I, um…maybe…sleep on the same side of the elevator as you?" She continued to not look at him as she finished this request, (blushing completely by the way).

To his interest and surprise, Arnold felt something twist inside of him at the request… Something warm and spark-like that made his heart beat intensely for a second. With a swallow though (not wanting to get caught up in blushing and silence like he had before) he finally he got a bit of his nervousness under control and gave a small smile in her direction.

He watched as Helga just continued to sit there, staring down at her twiddling thumbs and awaiting whatever response he'd give to the potentially too intimate request. 'He's gonna be uncomfortable with this…I knew I should have just shifted closer to him after he fell asleep. I mean, so he has 'feelings' for me…doesn't mean he fantasizes about sleeping curled in each other's arms forever and ever like I do on a regular basis…'

Helga let out a small sigh at the very logical argument about why Arnold was probably about to politely tell her off, and continued to wait for him to do so.

Suddenly though she felt her heart stop as, instead, she felt Arnold clasp one of her hands.

Her eyes flew open and turned in his direction to see her beloved proceeding to lay down upon the elevator floor…and pulling her along with him with a smile.

Helga instantly slipped down a bit and was now upon the floor propped up on the elbow of the arm the hand of which Arnold was still holding (and she still looked confused and terrified, by the way, and was also blushing insanely at this point).

Arnold just smiled up at her with that perfect half lidded gaze. "Helga, just so you know…you can sleep anywhere you want to…any WAY you want to…okay?" He glanced away and a bit more of a blush came into his face. "Even…just like we were before…" And with his last bit of courage he gave her hand a small squeeze and then closed his eyes, smiling just a bit more. His wide head rested upon his free arm curled beneath it.

Helga felt everything inside of her just plain melt. 'He…it's okay if I…if I sleep right next to him like this…holding hands? Just like when we woke up before. He…he likes me enough that he's letting me do…Oh…Oh Arnold…' She closed her eyes and felt total joy wash over her. Still she had to keep up the game of sarcasm just a little and so she added with an obvious smile before succumbing to a yawn herself. "Whatever floats your boat, Football Head…and in that case, I GUESS I could just sleep right here near you…and you know, hold your hand or whatever if you're scared about being in here or something…" She laid down more fully, closing her eyes with a smile.

Arnold's only response was the release of a very content sigh from his nose as he began to let himself drift off as well. "Goodnight, Helga…"

She felt totally at peace, and smiled just a bit more to herself. "Goodnight, Arnold."

Soft silence.

"Arnold?"

"Mmm hmm…?"

"Sometimes…when I feel a lot of, uh… 'things' about…um…you…I sort of work them out by writing poems…That's what I meant about writing poems about you."

Another moment of silence during which Helga (still with her eyes closed) tensed up completely for whatever response he would gi—

"Thanks, Helga…"

Her eyes flew open in surprise, only to be met with Arnold's warm, open eyes looking at her thoughtfully. "Could I…" he blushed a little, "Could I read some, someday?"

Helga blinked, then blushed furiously once again. "Hey, uh…didn't I say something about not getting every single thing out on the table in one night, Football Head? Heh, heh…"

Arnold gave a small chuckle, then yawned and closed his eyes again. "Of course…Sorry, Helga…"

She smiled a little and felt her eyes droop shut once more. "Ah, don't mention it…And…you're welcome, Arnold."

The two kids each let out deep, content breaths, and began to finally drift off…

XXXX

"Well, I guess this is all we can do now that my Dad's on the case…" Gerald sighed as he and Phoebe got off the city bus in front of a familiar boarding house. "Let Arnold's Grandpa know what we've found out, and then head home and hope someone finds Arnold and Helga by morning…" He proceeded up Arnold's stoop, looking to his still troubled companion.

Phoebe nodded her head as she headed up just behind him. "Yes, I suppose that is indeed all we can do for now…I just wish Helga's pager hadn't died…" She let out a worried sigh, a small frown continuing to be present upon her face.

Gerald put a hand on her shoulder and did his best to smile to brighten her mood. "Hey, babe, don't worry—look, Helga said they were totally fine, just stuck somewhere. And it was probably really close to the mall too since they never made it back here after they left… And besides, at least they're not alone. I mean, even if it is Arnold and Helga and they don't exactly get along, at least they have each other. What could happen?"

Gerald had expected his little supportive speech to melt the frown from Phoebe's face…he hadn't expected it to suddenly bring a serious smirk to her lips, almost like she found something really, really funny in what he said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Phoebe?"

She blinked, seeming to come out of a thought, and looked to him with a slight blush. "Oh, um…Sorry, Gerald…" She cleared her throat, hoping he hadn't noticed too much her more than amused reaction to the idea of what Helga could POSSIBLY find to do alone with Arnold that had popped into her head courtesy of his last question. "I was just preoccupied for a moment. I think all of your points are indeed quite valid though." She smiled just a bit more shyly and glanced away. "Thank you for comforting me, Gerald."

Gerald blushed a little and pulled his hand away from her shoulder, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, uh…no problem, Babe."

The two kids stood in awkward, adorable silence for a second or two more until Gerald suddenly recalled why they were standing on the boarding house stoop in the first place. He turned to the door, cleared his throat and gave a knock or two.

The door was quickly answered by a familiar old man. "Oh Shortman, is that y—" Phil's face instantly fell a little at the sight of two of his grandson's friends instead of his grandson on the stoop before him. "Oh, hello kids—any luck finding young Arnold yet?" He stepped aside to allow the two children to enter.

Gerald and Phoebe quickly stepped inside and Gerald shook his head, shutting the door behind them. "No, sorry, Phil. I talked to my dad though and he's got the whole police force out looking for them. But we just wanted to stop by before heading home and let you know that we did get a message from Helga's pager a little while ago and it said her and Arnold were safe but just stuck somewhere, but it died before we could read where they are."

Phoebe nodded. "Yes, Mr. Arnold's Grandpa…It sounds like they're fine…they're just lost or something to that effect for now."

Phil's look of worry continued for another moment…but then to Gerald and Phoebe's surprise…a strange smile came to his face. "Now wait a minute…" he put his hands on his hips, "Is Helga the little blonde one with the pink bow and the one eyebrow?"

Gerald and Phoebe raised eyebrows, looked to each other, then looked back to Phil and gave a nod each.

Phil maintained for a second longer…and then suddenly burst into jovial laughter.

Now Gerald and Phoebe were REALLY confused…

Phil took a breath and wiped a tear from his eye. "You kids should have told me that in the first place! Heh, heh!" He straightened up a it. "Oh boy, and here I am thinking Shortman's really lost somewhere with just a regular one of your friends, but it's different if he's trapped with HER…Probably just the thing he needs, actually…" He added this last part as an afterthought, putting a hand to his chin….and then got this look on his face like he was reminiscing a little. "Yes sir, nothing out of the ordinary or too dangerous about being trapped for a while with a girl you—"

"General, I've returned from the reconnaissance mission!"

This sudden announcement from a fully dressed in black, cork-still-under-her-eyes Gertie as she stepped into the hall from the kitchen caused all eyes to turn to her. She was just standing there, smiling proudly, saluting.

Phil let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "At ease for a minute, Pookie—just let me finish talking to the kids." He smiled and turned back to Gerald and Phoebe. "Now listen you two, I wouldn't worry too much about Arnold and Helga if they're with each other… Something tells me a little time trapped somewhere together won't exactly kill them. And you said they're safe, right? And that the police are searching for them? So I'm sure this'll all be better by the morning…" He turned back to his wife for support. "Right, Pookie?"

Gertie nodded, smiling brightly. "Right, General. They'll be more than fine in that mall elevator until daybreak! Checked the cables and wiring myself—nothing more than a ten minute repair and a five foot drop at most!" And with an enthusiastic nod she turned back in the direction of the kitchen. "I'm just going to make some sandwiches to bring to them since they missed dinner. Don't wait up! HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

And with that she was gone from the room, laughing crazily to herself.

Silence.

Dropped jaws.

Wide eyes.

Finally Phil just let out a very deep sigh, rubbing his temple. "Gerald, you call your Dad, Phoebe, you go keep an eye on Arnold's grandma and make sure she doesn't sneak out a window or something, and I'll get the keys and warm up the Packard…Let's meet outside in ten minutes, okay?"

Without hesitation, the two kids nodded and went to their respective tasks as Phil went to his.


End file.
